A COUNCIL which has angered elderly people's families by proposing to close a residential home is making a formal application for the building to be demolished.

The announcement by Durham County Council came on the day that relatives of elderly people living in Stoneleigh, Barnard Castle, were giving evidence at an inquiry into the closure plans.

The Stoneleigh Relatives Action Group has been at loggerheads with the authority over plans to shut the home under an £18m county-wide programme to modernise care facilities for the elderly.

It would be replaced by an extra-care home which, the council says, will give people greater independence and choice combined with 24-hour support.

The council's original programme was to close Stoneleigh at the end of September. But no move can be made until the inquiry report is published. That is expected to be on September 27.

Peter Kemp, Durham County Council's director of social services, said last night: "An independent inquiry is currently looking at objections to the handling of the proposed closure and replacement of Stoneleigh and, should it express any concerns about the authority's approach, the county council will need to consider the implications of the panel's findings.

"If the inquiry agrees with the proposals, planning permission will help the early construction of the new-style replacement."

Relatives complained last night that the 17 or so people still living at the home had not been given any information about their future.

A group spokesman said: "There have been no discussions with relatives as to exactly what is going to happen. There is a lot of uncertainty and it is creating distress. People are very upset by it all.