THE owner of Graceland Care Home in Guisborough has announced he is selling the home to a new operator.

Barry Parvin, who warned last year that he would have to close the home if more funding was not made available, confirmed yesterday that he intended to relinquish control.

A spokesman for the home's management team said: "A new operator will bring its expertise to Graceland, which will further help to secure the home's future, as well as the jobs of staff and homes of residents."

Mr Parvin was part of a delegation that travelled to London last month to lobby the Health Minister, Stephen Ladyman, for more Government funding for private care homes.

But following the meeting, the director of social services at Redcar and Cleveland Council, Maurice Bates, said a cost of care exercise could take up to two years to complete.

The Graceland spokesman said Mr Parvin was still passionate about fighting the cause for care homes, but did not want to be accused of having a conflicting interest. He said Mr Parvin was considering standing as a borough councillor, in order to have an input into the council's agenda for care homes.

Mr Parvin said: "This decision has not been made lightly, but I will ensure whoever takes control at Graceland will have the best interests of the residents, their relatives and staff at heart.

"I will continue to fight for changes to the care home sector and thank all who have been involved with Graceland, not only through this difficult past few months, but also over the last 18 years."