BOURNEMOUTH council is set to purchase a 67-bed care home in response to concerns about the lack of affordable facilities in the borough.

A special meeting of members of the cabinet will take place on Friday to consider plans to borrow money to fund the purchase of 100 per cent of the shares of the company which runs the facility.

The council says that the purchase would save it about £400,000-a-year in the avoided costs of paying private providers for the equivalent number of spaces.

Proposals being considered by councillors would see the home purchased with borrowed money before it is leased to Tricuro – the company owned by the three top-tier Dorset local authorities which provides care services – for 10 years.

Cabinet members will consider a recommendation the purchase is backed and referred to the full council for final approval.

In a report, commercial development manager, Sarah Longthorpe, says: “Due to the current economic conditions, the external care home market in Bournemouth is finding it difficult to modernise and adapt to meet the changing needs of the population.

“The care homes that have been built recently have to charge higher fees than the council is able to pay to meet their new-build borrowing costs and therefore are not economically sustainable within the current adult social care budget.”

Neither the company nor the care home it owns have been named due to concerns that them being publicised would “prejudice the commercial interests of the council”.

The council has previously looked into building a new care home on land it already owns but has determined purchasing an already existing centre to be “more cost-effective” than the estimated £7-8 million required for a new development.

Cllr Blair Crawford, the cabinet member for adult social care, said: “We are finding it increasingly difficult to source suitable accommodation and care at an affordable price for people leaving hospital or who need residential care.

“By owning our own care home, we are able to secure a large number of affordable bed places for local people – particularly those with dementia – and ensure the home best meets the changing needs of those that require care.”

If approved by councillors, it is expected that the purchase would be completed in the spring before a lease is agreed with Tricuro.