#SAVEHENRYCORNISHCARECENTRE

## CHIPPING NORTON — HENRY CORNISH CARE CENTRE NEEDS OUR SUPPORT MORE THAN EVER

Henry Cornish Care Centre has been an integral part of the Chipping Norton community for many years. Before becoming Henry Cornish, many local people will remember the home as Castle View on Spring Street.

For generations, this facility has cared for local residents, providing them with a home, dignity, compassion and support — including during the final days of their lives.

But Henry Cornish is more than a care home.

**It is part of our community.**

It is also a significant local employer, providing jobs for more than 50 people, many of whom live locally and have dedicated years of their working lives to caring for others.

We have now learned that Oxfordshire County Council is proposing the permanent closure of Henry Cornish Care Centre, with a six-week public consultation announced this evening.

I strongly believe our community needs to make its voice heard during that consultation.

Questions need to be asked about the justification for closing an established local care facility, what will happen to its residents, what this means for their families and staff, and what the long-term future of the building would be.

## WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE BUILDING?

There is another important question that I believe the people of Chipping Norton deserve an answer to:

**What exactly does the council intend to do with the building if Henry Cornish closes?**

As things currently stand, we have not been presented with a clear, solid long-term plan for the site.

Could this valuable community building simply be left standing empty?

Could it be sold or converted for another purpose?

Could it potentially be considered for accommodation for asylum seekers or migrants without settled immigration status?

We simply don't know — and that is precisely why the council needs to be completely transparent about its intentions for the building and site.

These are questions, not claims about what will happen to the building. But when the permanent closure of such an important community facility is being proposed, local people have every right to ask what its future will be.

If the council believes that closing a functioning care home is in the public interest, then Chipping Norton deserves to know not only **why**, but also **what is intended to replace it**.

## MY PERSONAL CONNECTION

For complete transparency, I have a very personal connection to Henry Cornish.

**I am writing this as the husband of the home's registered manager, as a local businessman and as a former firefighter who served here in Chipping Norton.**

I have spent many years living, working, running a business and serving within this town. I care deeply about Chipping Norton, its future and, most importantly, the people who call it home.

My wife, Laura, is the registered home manager of Henry Cornish Care Centre, and I could not be prouder of what she and her team have achieved.

Laura is one of the hardest-working individuals I know. She started at the bottom and worked her way up through the care sector to become the registered manager she is today.

But what matters far more than her job title is how sincerely she cares about the residents, their families and the staff who make Henry Cornish what it is.

In October 2025, Laura was awarded the **OSJCT Inspirational Leader Award**.

While this was an incredible personal achievement, Laura dedicated that recognition to the professional, compassionate and hardworking team she has behind her.

That says everything about the people who work at Henry Cornish.

Those people now face enormous uncertainty.

## THIS IS BIGGER THAN ANY ONE PERSON

I appreciate that because of my wife's position, I am biased towards this wonderful facility. I make no attempt to hide that.

But this isn't simply about my wife.

It isn't about one manager.

It isn't about one team.

And it isn't only about more than 50 local jobs.

**It's about our residents.**

**It's about their families.**

**It's about protecting local jobs.**

**It's about allowing older and vulnerable people to receive care within their own community.**

**It's about protecting a facility that has served generations of Chipping Norton families.**

**It's about transparency over the future of an important community asset.**

And ultimately, **it's about what sort of town and community we want Chipping Norton to be.**

## NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP

If Henry Cornish or Castle View has ever touched the life of you or your family, if you have worked there, if you know somebody who works there, or if you simply believe that our elderly residents deserve the opportunity to be cared for within their own community, **please do not stay silent.**

### ✍️ SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION

Please sign the online petition calling for Henry Cornish Care Centre to be saved.

**Every single signature matters.**

A petition containing hundreds — hopefully thousands — of signatures sends a powerful message that Chipping Norton is prepared to stand behind its residents, families and care workers.

Please don't just sign it yourself. **Send it to your friends, family, neighbours and colleagues and ask them to sign it too.**

### 📢 RESPOND TO THE SIX-WEEK PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Signing the petition is important, but **please also take part in Oxfordshire County Council's six-week public consultation.**

Tell the council exactly what Henry Cornish means to Chipping Norton.

If you or somebody in your family has personal experience of Henry Cornish or Castle View, **tell them your story.**

Those individual experiences demonstrate something that cannot simply be represented on a financial spreadsheet — the human value of having high-quality residential care available within our own community.

### 🗣️ CONTACT YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES

Contact your councillors and other local representatives.

Ask them where they stand.

Ask them to challenge the proposed closure.

Ask what will happen to the residents.

Ask what will happen to the staff.

Ask what alternative options have genuinely been considered.

And ask exactly what the long-term plan is for the Henry Cornish building and site if the care home is permanently closed.

### 📲 SHARE THIS MESSAGE

Please share this as widely as possible.

Put it into local Facebook and community groups.

Send it to friends and family.

Share it with people in Chipping Norton and throughout the surrounding villages.

Talk about it.

The more people who know what is happening, the harder it becomes for such an important decision to pass without proper public scrutiny.

## SIX WEEKS TO MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD

We have a six-week consultation period in which to make our feelings known.

**Let's use it.**

Whatever your political views, this should be about something much more fundamental: looking after the people who have spent their lives contributing to and building our communities.

Henry Cornish Care Centre has supported the people of Chipping Norton for many years.

Its staff have gone to work every day to care for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

Families have trusted those staff with the people they love.

For many residents, Henry Cornish isn't simply a care facility.

**It's their home.**

And now, when its future is under threat, **Henry Cornish Care Centre needs the Chipping Norton community to stand behind it.**

Please don't assume somebody else will speak up.

**SIGN THE PETITION.**

**RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION.**

**CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.**

**SHARE THIS MESSAGE.**

**MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.**

💙 **STAND WITH THE RESIDENTS.**

💙 **STAND WITH THEIR FAMILIES.**

💙 **STAND WITH THE STAFF.**

# SAVE HENRY CORNISH CARE CENTRE