Voters to use retirement home as polling station
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CHELTENHAM Borough Council’s returning officer has defended the decision to use a retirement complex as a polling station next month.
Worried resident Samuel Adams fears voters on local elections day, May 6, could spread Covid-19 in Robert Harvey House, in Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham.
Its communal lounge will be used as a venue for people to vote in the Gloucestershire County Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
Mr Adams said that this had happened at previous elections, and residents had not liked it then, but he was very surprised it was going ahead during a pandemic.
The 66-year-old, who has lived in the block of 37 flats for seven years, said: “I think it’s terribly wrong and irresponsible. A lot of us have had to self-isolate for over a year. A lot of people here are disabled and under medical care.”
He claimed the council’s decision could put residents’ lives at risk and came after a year when he and other people in the flats had not been allowed to use the lounge because of the fear of spreading the virus.
Now, he said, there could be thousands of people from Pittville and Prestbury using it to vote in.
He added: “I seriously can’t believe they’re doing it. It’s a communal lounge that’s not been open to us for the past year. It’s totally crazy. They’ve been so strict but on the sixth of May, they plan to throw it out of the window.”
Paul Jones, Cheltenham Borough Council’s returning officer, said: “As with all of our polling station venues, we have completed a thorough risk assessment of the communal lounge area at Robert Harvey House.
“We will also be taking a number of steps to ensure safety for all those entering and leaving the station, including mask wearing (unless exempt), a socially distanced queuing system, provision of hand gel and regular staff handwashing. We take this very seriously.
“Residents of Robert Harvey House will not be in close proximity to the area that is being used. We are in contact with the resident concerned and will be more than happy to talk through the safety measures that we are taking.”