Residents take stand over sale of Warkworth retirement village

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Residents of a retirement village in Warkworth are in revolt over its sale by Presbyterian Support Northern (PSN) as part of a seven-village disposal deal.

The 35 residents say the religious charity has betrayed their trust by selling its residential aged-care arm to a private rest-home chain.

They are refusing to sign transfer documents in a bid to force PSN to renegotiate the sale so their Totara Park Village is left out of the deal.

Residents' spokesman Wally Glen said the village had been "heaven" until PSN sacked the local advisory committee and switched its regional focus to looking after people in their homes.

Late last year, PSN announced a deal to sell the assets and operations of its seven villages to the Blenheim-based Qualcare chain.

Mr Glen said Totara Park residents were dismayed PSN had rejected their preference for the village to be taken over by Warkworth-based Rodney Health Trust.

"It's a local non-profit outfit we knew. It would have brought 24-hour care and courtesy coaches to town - without putting up fees."

The PSN board said the trust's bid failed to meet its conditions.

Mr Glen said residents questioned the rejection of the trust and the morality of profiting from what were gifts of land, buildings and money from Rotary, Lions and the community. One was the large facilities centre that also serves non-residents as a daycare centre.

Residents bought licences to occupy their cottages and this, said Mr Glen, gave them bargaining power. They are refusing to sign documents that would ensure a smooth transition.

PSN had hoped the change of ownership would take effect on February 2. But Qualcare managing director Greg Tomlinson said yesterday the deal was not settled because of "other issues" rather than the residents' refusal to sign documents.

Neither Mr Tomlinson nor PSN chief executive Winsome Stretch knew about the residents' action when contacted by the Herald.

Totara Park attracted people because they thought it was run by a Christian charity, said Mr Glen.

"We're hoping this action will make the PSN so fed up that it will leave this place out of it."

The residents are aged from their late 60s to 92 and most are widows.

Stewart Shirley, who is a trustee of Rodney Health Trust and was on the village advisory committee, said it was in the residents' interests for Totara Park to be run by a charitable trust with local interest and input.

The story so far

* May 2003: Presbyterian Support Northern says it will sell its seven retirement villages in order to develop services for older people in their homes.

* December 2003: The PSN board says the sale of the villages to Qualcare from this month is "the end of an era". The company met the board criteria for continuing quality of care and service and an acceptable financial return, which is undisclosed.

* The villages are: Lady Allum (North Shore), Meadowbank (Auckland City), Totara Park (Warkworth), Elmwood (Manurewa), St John's (Papatoetoe), Trevellyn (Hamilton) and Melrose Park (Tauranga).