Gwynedd care home for Polish WW2 veterans to close in 2021

A care home built for Polish war veterans will close next year because of mounting financial challenges.

The Penrhos Polish Home near Pwllheli in Gwynedd will shut for good in March 2021, affecting about 30 residents.

Sheltered accommodation on the site is set to be handed over to a housing association, and is not affected.

The residential centre was built on a former RAF base where Polish servicemen were demobilised after World War Two.

Polish Home Society board member Kasia Rafalat said the decision was taken "with deep regret" after all other options had been explored.

"Our aim at all times has been focussed on protecting the welfare and well-being of residents and staff and ensuring that their needs are looked after for the future," she said.

The daughter of one resident told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that some residents had been there for two decades and were "very frightened".

"It's not just the residents that will suffer because of this move, but also the staff," she said.

"Most of them live on site and are also mainly Polish."

Local county councillor Angela Russell said the announcement had caused "great concern" in the community and described the Polish home as a "cherished asset" for the Llŷn Peninsula.

She said there was a "real lack of nursing homes in the area" and could have an impact on the local community hospital, Ysbyty Bryn Beryl.

Gwynedd council said it was working with the home to establish "a joint support package that would ensure that the home's residents continue to receive the care they require".

The home celebrated its 70th birthday in 2019, after being set-up in 1949 for exiled Polish airmen, soldiers and sailors, who established a Polish speaking community on the former RAF base.