HOPES raised by a 1,000 signature petition were dashed within hours when a housing association confirmed it would go ahead with closing a March care home.

The petition was presented to Cambridgeshire County Council on Tuesday and new leader Nick Clarke promised he would consider it.

But by 6pm that evening Sanctuary Housing had told residents nothing had changed and the 40 bedroom home will close by October 31.

A key factor has been the �200,000 spent by the county council on block booking of beds that were then never used.

“What we’re saying is we’re ending block booking when the contract expires but we will carry on spot purchasing,” says a council official.

That is not sufficient of a guarantee for Sanctuary who owns the home and let the Methodist Housing Association run it.

Sanctuary also said the 1960s built building was no longer fit for purpose.

Residents may find homes locally but staff will probably have to relocate to other MHA homes near Cambridge.

A Sanctuary spokesman said: “We recognise that there is never a good time to close a home”

But “the size of the rooms and the fact that there are no en suite facilities to provide the privacy, dignity and independence residents deserve” forced its closure. “These facts are unsustainable into the future,” said the spokesman.