Finally.

After weeks of emails and calls. 

A response from Age UK’s Director of National Services. 

Three questions have needed answering for some time now:- 

Q1. When would Age UK meet with interested parties- ( other charities) as suggested by them back in July? 
A. “In due course.” Followed by the usual PR guff… “as we announced the decision to sell early there is nothing further to add until 2026”. YAWN.

Q2. Has Age UK sent a copy of the Salcombe Town Council’s letter about Woodcot to the Age UK Trustees.

A. “In due course”. That’s a no. (So do the Age UK Trustees even know what is going on? )

Q3. When is the next Trustee Meeting for Age UK trustees?

A. That is confidential. Fair enough. 

So. That’s that then.

However.

By end of day. News comes in that Age UK have reached out to ‘elected stakeholders’ (that’s councillors and MP’s in plain English) asking to have the  details of any supportive charitable partners interested in taking on Woodcot and running it as intended in the covenant. 

Fortunately…. for the six remaining residents of Woodcot, those wanting  to get into Woodcot, everyone who wants Woodcot to stay as Miss Jennings wished…Those same  supportive charitable partners wrote to the elected stakeholders right from the start of this campaign back in early July- they too have been waiting, waiting, waiting for Age UK to respond.

Today that chance came. 

Now that Age UK have finally acknowledged that there is an entire community watching, listening and waiting to see what they  do next, things can progress to the next stage.

That is progress after months of stalemate.  

For the six remaining residents. The strain  is starting to take its toll.

Age UK have behaved atrociously towards them. They’ve had their contracts changed, have the threat of homelessness hanging over their heads, without a word of a lie they haven’t known what to do or who to turn to. 

In old age  you need peace and security. For the past six months this has been denied them.

Lets hope Age UK now do the decent thing and pass Woodcot on to another charity as it was passed to them. That way they will fulfil the promise that was made to the residents when they were told that they would never have to leave and to Miss Jennings when she gave the house to charity to be used as a residential home for old people.  

In the meantime. Keep signing and keep sharing. 

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou.