A RISCA councillor is questioning a cabinet member on whether petitions to keep a residential home open signed by more than 8,000 people will be listened to by the authority.

Dave Rees has submitted a question to a full meeting of Caerphilly council, taking place tomorrow, asking whether Ty Darran campaigners’ views will be taken into account by Caerphilly council - like the feedback on proposals for a streetlight switch-off were earlier this year.

His question to the cabinet member for social services, Councillor Judith Pritchard, says: “When consulting with the residents of Caerphilly about options to switch off street lights across the borough, the cabinet based their final decision on the views of just over 1000 residents.

“Can cabinet members give assurances to the people of Islwyn that the voices of the people will be the determining factor when making the decision on the future of Ty Darran residential care home?”

We reported earlier this month how protestors have handed in three petitions, with a total of more than 8,000 signatures, to council chief executive Stuart Rosser.

The council entered into a three-month consultation on the future of the home in January, saying parts of Ty Darran, which is home to 13 people and has 28 employees, are not fit for purpose.

It said redevelopment of the 36-bed home would cost £500,000, with annual running costs of £444,000.

Cllr Rees said: “The petitions show people clearly don’t want it to close and 8,000 is a lot more than the 1,000 people the council listened to over street lights so I want to know whether their voices are going to be heard.”

Caerphilly council announced last month it would switch off 6,000 street lights on main roads between towns and villages between midnight and 5.30am.

There had been 1,448 responses to a consultation on the issue from the county borough's 140,000 residents.