A HOME for the elderly in Ramsbottom could be developed as part of a larger scheme affecting all the ten homes owned by Bury Council.

Hazelhurst is proposed to become a resource centre retaining a number of long stay beds and developing as a home care service base and for preventative services such as short stay and day care.

It will also provide services for people with dementia.

Bury's executive member for social services, health and housing, Coun Mike Connolly, said: "We are very conscious that we are dealing with the lives of individuals here and in many cases quite elderly people.

"However, change is no longer just an option, it has become a necessity. We currently have more care beds per head of population than any other local authority in Greater Manchester and this is a situation which we simply cannot sustain indefinitely."

The proposals include, by the end of this September, the closure of Warth Fold in Bury and Claremont in Prestwich and by the middle of next year, the closure of Beech Grove in Bury.