MEMBERS of an action group fighting plans to close a residential home have vowed to continue their battle in the High Court.

Relatives in the Stoneleigh Relatives Action Group, which was set up to block plans by Durham County Council to close the home in Barnard Castle, said they were confident the decision to demolish the home would be overturned.

Their campaign to keep Stoneleigh open suffered a blow before Christmas when a High Court judge rejected the action group's claims that residents' human rights had been breached.

The judge threw out their claim for a judicial review, but a human rights solicitor acting on behalf of a resident's relative said they were confident that the decision would be overturned on appeal and that the county council would be forced to review its decision to close Stoneleigh.

Alistair Wallace said a permission hearing had been granted, and that he was confident that any challenge to the judge's decision would be successful.

He said: "We were obviously disappointed that the judge decided against our case, but the fact that this entire matter has actually gone to the High Court means that there is obviously a case to answer and that there is plenty of substance in our claim.

"This is by no means the end of the matter, and I am confident that the permission hearing, which is in effect a review of the initial hearing, will fall in our favour.

"We would not have brought this case if we thought this was not a strong case and, moreover, getting as far as we have got is very difficult, so it seems to me that the county council certainly has a case to answer."

But a spokeswoman for the county council said the authority was confident that the court would uphold the judge's decision to reject a judicial review.