Elderly residents living in Willowmere could soon see their on-site restaurants re-opened as Cheshire East has agreed to look for a new provider for the service.

The council shut the restaurant at Willowmere Extra Care in Middlewich and Oakmere in Handforth at the beginning of this year after its children and families committee voted to close the school meals service, which had also served both facilities.

On Monday (22 September) members of the adults and health committee – which wasn't consulted initially about the impact on the elderly residents – voted unanimously to look for a new provider for the meals service.

Willowmere resident John Moulton, who was also speaking on behalf of Oakmere residents, told the committee: "We believe that it is vital that all the residents have access to a hot, nutritional meal every day, but linked to this, and incredibly importantly, enjoy the social interaction that the restaurant and eating together as a community brings."

He said residents at Middlewich and Handforth had worked with the council's communities team with the aim of re-opening the restaurants and had supported all recent consultations.

Willowmere and Oakmere are two of five extra care schemes in Cheshire developed under private finance initiative (PFI) arrangements in 2009.

Under the agreement, the responsibility for catering falls to the local authority.

But Dan Coyne, head of service, told the meeting, the previous provider didn't increase the price on a regular basis and was always running at a deficit that was being subsidised by the council.

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Residents, meanwhile, were paying £6 for a hot meal, totally unaware they were being subsidised until the council effectively pulled the plug.

Mr Coyne said: "This would operate on a much more commercial basis, and we want to see it making that sort of level of profit to be sustainable.

"So, the budget we have is £60,000 for both sites [in total], but that will be expected to reduce annually through the life of the three-to-five year contract."

Since January, residents at both sites have been receiving meals delivered from two charities – but the take-up hasn't been good and all have called for the restaurants to be reinstated.

Cllr Janet Clowes. (Photo: Cheshire East)

Cllr Janet Clowes (Wybunbury, Con) said: "There is so much research out there, from early years to care homes to hospitals, about the benefits of getting individuals around a table to share a meal for mental health wellbeing.

"If we do not provide that kind of facility for these residents, we are doing them a great disservice and possibly bringing forward extra cost for adult social care in the future."

"If we get the numbers there, it's a win for the caterers, because they make money out of it.Cllr Sam Corcoran (Sandbach, Lab) said getting on-site catering back was a 'win, win, win', providing enough people used the service.

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Cllr Sam Corcoran. (Photo: Cheshire East)

"It's a win for the residents, because they get a vibrant community spirit at mealtimes, and it's a win for the wider community and the council because we see the health benefits for the people being there," he said.

Conservative group leader Stewart Gardiner said the council owed the residents at Oakmere and Willowmere an apology because the closure of their restaurants had been brought about by 'failure by the council to work collaboratively between services'.

The council will now begin the procurement for a new provider.

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