THE BRONTË Park Residential Home in Haworth has closed following a devastating inspection by watchdogs.

Bradford Council this week confirmed that the home, off Bridgehouse Lane, had been shut and all residents moved to alternative accommodation.

The council’s Health and Wellbeing department issued a short statement just a fortnight after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) branded the home inadequate following its inspection in April.

News of the closure was first revealed publicly last week by the relative of a long-time resident in a letter to the Keighley News.

He said that just before the publication of the report, the Brontë Park’s owners and staff had hosted a meeting at the home to break the news of the closure.

The Bradford Council spokesman subsequently confirmed the CQC had inspected Brontë Park on April 27 and found a number of concerns.

She said: "As result the owners made a decision to close the home.

“We worked closely with the provider to inform the residents, relatives and staff of the closure. All residents have been successfully accommodated elsewhere and the home is now closed."

As a result of the report, the CQC put Bronte Park in special measures and gave the owners six months to make significant improvements to protect the safety and welfare of residents.

The home, which lay up a long drive from Bridgehouse Lane and overlooked the Worth Valley between Haworth and Oxenhope, received an inadequate rating for leadership, and the safety, effectiveness and responsiveness of its service.

Inspectors, who visited the home on April 27 and May 8, also said the quality of the home’s care for its 24 residents required improvement.

They identified eight breaches in regulations regarding issues such as staffing, fit and proper persons employed, safe care and treatment, safeguarding, person-centred care, dignity and respect, and good governance.

The inspectors said the overall quality had declined significantly since the previous inspection in February 2016, when the home was classed as requiring improvement.

In a letter to the Keighley News on July 20, the relative of one long-term resident, who wished to remain anonymous, paid tribute to the care home’s staff.

He wrote: “Bronte Park was a Specialist Care Home; it was also special for people with different individual needs, run by a family for families in beautiful countryside.

“The home was run like a family home. We all supported each other. The report states the staff were kind and caring. This has been the case many years and it is why we will miss the home so much.”