Hft has announced the closure of a loss-making care home in West Sussex.

The learning disability charity has served three-month notice on the closure of its Walberton site revealing it incurred a more than £1 million shortfall in funds during the last year.

Peter Snelling, chief care and support officer at Hft, said the Walberton site had faced “unique challenges” in terms of its location which had made it hard to attract and retain staff and resulted in unsustainable agency costs.

Snelling said: “We have, therefore, taken the very difficult decision to serve three months’ contractual notice on some of our services at Walberton. We have not taken this decision lightly; it is very much a decision of last resort, as we have exhausted all other options to ensure the sustainability of the service.  

A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “The health and wellbeing of people in West Sussex remains our top priority. We are actively working with residents, their families and other commissioning authorities to find suitable alternative arrangements for those affected.”