A LUXURY care home in Tenbury is to close less than two years after it opened with an expectation of creating up to 80 jobs and injecting millions into the local economy.

Cadmore Lodge opened as a care home in the autumn of 2015 but the uptake by wealthy elderly has been disappointing and, with just six residents, it is closing down.

Eighteen staff have been told of the decision and if possible will be offered alternative jobs within the Ephraims Care Group.

Residents will also be offered a move to one of the other homes in the group.

“Unfortunately, we have had to take the decision to close for commercial reasons,” said Jean-Pierre Ellis, managing director.

Cadmore Lodge, which includes a nine-hole golf course, was for many years a successful hotel.

It was hoped that the care home would prove an attractive facility for the super-rich and it included a helicopter pad so that residents, their families and friends could fly in and out.

Since buying Cadmore Lodge, the family business, which has a string of care homes across the West Midlands, has invested more than £1 million in the refurbishment. Further investment was on-going at the time the closure decision was made.

Future plans had included constructing a nursing facility with the ability to cater for people suffering from dementia.

The project was expected provide a massive boost to the local economy with a commitment to provide work for people from the Tenbury area where possible.

It had been hoped that up to 80 new full- and part-time jobs would be created.

There was also a promise to operate a ‘buy local’ policy, if at all possible, and it was estimated that this would involve spending at least £250,000 a year with suppliers and businesses in the Tenbury area.

Fifteen rooms, all of which could be single or double, were envisaged and the first couple had moved in by the time that the home was formally opened in November 2015.

Jean-Pierre Ellis said at the time of the launch that he thought it would take time to reach full occupancy but, after 18 months, time has run out.

The hoped-for interest from people both within the local area and further afield including London and the south-east failed to materialise.

There is a restaurant, hair salon and swimming pool within the facility as well as a lake and extensive grounds.

Other plans had included chalet-type accommodation for friends and relatives of residents to use.

Before it opened as a care home, the future of Cadmore Lodge had been subject to widespread speculation. In its prime, the hotel was used for a host of local events by groups in and around Tenbury and the Teme Valley.

Jean-Pierre Ellis said residents would be allowed to take their time moving out and added that it was not known what would happen to the site in the future.