SNP woman Maria Brown, who represents the Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank areas, is frustrated that an amendment proposed to confirm the future of Hunterhill Care Home was voted down at a meeting last week.

The amendment was to ensure it remained open and to commend the campaigners who were successful in getting the Labour administration to reverse their decision to transfer Hunterhill Care Home to the Health Board.

But despite Councillor Iain McMillan pledging that Hunterhill was safe ‘for the time being,’ Cllr Brown expressed fears over an “uncertain” future for the building.

She told The Gazette: “If all is well for the future of Hunterhill and the other two council care homes, why was my amendment rejected?

“We will all watch with interest how the upcoming redesign will be conducted and the outcome of that process.

“In the meantime I wish to publicly commend the Save the Hunterhill campaigners. I suspect however their work is not yet done.” Renfrewshire Council had previously announced plans to close down the Paisley-based care home, meaning more than 40 elderly residents would have to move and the lease of the property would go to the Health Board.

At the time, scores of families contacted The Gazette to express their devastation over plans to force loved-ones out of the £4.2million Hunterhill centre.

This led to a widespread campaign, backed by comedy actress Maureen Beattie, and amassed thousands of signatures on a petition to block the closure.

But, despite Cllr Brown’s concerns, Councillor Will Mylet, one of the SNP councillors who has Hunterhill Care Home in his ward, praised the move, saying: “This is great news for the campaigners who have worked tirelessly to save the care home.

“I would particularly like to thank Kathleen Bryson and Liz Duff for their tremendous effort to keep this campaign going.

“They have had some great help from the campaign committee as well as others including local residents in the wider Hunterhill community.

“We still have to get more details to find out if the council will now allow more people to move into Hunterhill care home and what is the long term future for all the council care homes.” Leading campaigner, Kathleen Bryson, whose 88-year-old mum Catherine lives in the home, thanked all the people who helped the U-turn come to fruition.

She said: “I still feel numb at the moment. I’m pleased how successful the campaign has been and I am hopeful the council stick to their word.” Councillor Iain McMillan, convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Social Work, Health and Well-being Policy Board, added: “The council made clear in its report on reshaping care for older people, and re-affirmed during the debate on October 9, that the future of the Hunterhill Care Home was assured.

“Hunterhill will continue to provide high quality care for its residents and we are re-opening the care home to new residents.

“At the same time we indicated we would return to the council with a further reporter in the next few months on how we intend to address the challenges of looking after older people in Renfrewshire.”