Furious pensioners and their relatives today said they believed a consultation exercise on the future of an old people's home in Keighley was a waste of time.

The future of Ingrow Green residential home for the elderly in Keighley is in doubt because the building needs £1.3 million spending on it to bring it up to scratch.

Social services bosses are considering closing it and building more modern sheltered housing on the site.

But they have voted to consult for eight to ten weeks with the 29 residents and their families before deciding what to do.

Protesters, who handed a petition in at City Hall to register their feelings, fear councillors' minds are already made up.

William Overend, whose cousin Louis is a resident of the home, said: "The home is like one big happy family, and my cousin Louis is very upset."

Christine Ward, 61, whose brother Grahame spends time at the home in a respite, short-term basis, said: "I am pleased that so many people turned up to protest, but you know what's going to happen.

"They talk about having a better service in the future but if it was sheltered housing there wouldn't be 24-hour care on site.

"The point is, at the moment people are there looking after residents 24 hours a day.

"The council say they're spending money in Keighley but I don't feel they're spending it on older people, which isn't fair. These are people who were working from the age of 12 and served in the Second World War and have paid taxes all their life."

Councillors agreed to open a ten-week consultation exercise looking at the future of Ingrow Green residential home and promised to take the comments of protesters into account.

Councillor John Godward (Lab, Great Horton) said there had to be change. If the home was refurbished, at an estimated cost of £1.3 million, it would have to close for a year anyway and this would cause great disruption to residents, he said.

Councillor Ian Greenwood, the leader of the council, told protesters that he knew what they were going through because he had supported an elderly relative of his own.

"I recognise this is a very worrying time for yourselves and your relatives," he said.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.