REGARDING the sale of the former Park Lee Hospital in Blackburn, which is to become a boarding school for Islamic scholars (LET, May 20), statements have been made that the land and buildings were sold to the highest bidder.

Do readers think that £360,000 was a high bid for such a large area of land and the buildings?

Elderly and ill people were moved from this hospital into private nursing care in order to vacate the premises.

Do readers think that this sum was adequate remuneration for this upheaval and the resulting decrease in NHS nursing care for the elderly?

This land and the buildings are also adjacent to three publicly-owned residential facilities - Mowbray Lodge for the care of persons with disabilities; Woodlea, which cares for people in need of psychiatric nursing and the East Lancashire Hospice, which provides nursing for very sick people, some terminally-ill.

Do readers think that a boarding school, possibly catering for young men, aged 12-21 years, where a mosque would be on site, is a desirable or suitable use of buildings in such close proximity to these centres?

These questions do not seem to have been addressed by the persons involved in decision-making on behalf of the public.

PARK LEE area residents, Blackburn.

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