CORNWALL Council is to close Pendean Children's Home in Liskeard.

At a cabinet meeting it was also agreed that the large Victorian property in West Street should be sold on the open market, and the proceeds used to create a new specialist family centre at the already closed Penelvan children's home in Camborne.

The centre would include three new specialist adolescent support teams.

Pendean children's home, which has recently been rated by Ofsted as 'inadequate', is already operating at a reduced level, the placement accommodation having dropped from six to four.

Andrew Wallis, the cabinet member for children and young people, said the proposal was a positive scheme which offered a new way of providing support to deliver better outcomes for vulnerable young people.

Under the scheme, almost £1m of the £1,125,844 which will be saved by the closure of the two homes will be used for the new schemes. The remaining money will be used as part of the savings required by the children, schools and families directorate.