RELATIVES of a resident at a nursing home threatened with closure have disputed council claims that it is running at a profit.

A protest march will be held on Saturday against the closure of Graceland Nursing Home, Guisborough, which would leave 51 residents without homes and around 60 staff without jobs.

It has also left a beds crisis in Redcar and Cleveland, with the imminent closure of Nessfield Care Home, Nunthorpe, and the recent closure of Bupa's St David's Care Home, Redcar.

Barry Parvin, proprietor of Graceland, who announced at the end of last month that the home would close on November 28, has blamed the situation on staffing problems.

He said Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and the Langbaurgh Primary Care Trust were not paying enough money for him to pay his staff above the minimum wage.

But the council, which is responsible for 14 of the residents, while the remaining 37 are looked after by the trust, claims the home is making a profit of £52,000 a year.

Councillor Valerie Halton, cabinet member for social services, said the home had a 24 per cent increase in payments over the last two years.

"We believe Mr Parvin wants to sell the home to developers," she said.

"We think he is going to close the home come what may.

"We are very concerned about the 51 residents. It is a matter of urgency to get them all rehomed."

But Derrick Langley, whose 84-year-old mother-in-law is in the home, said the profit was made, but between April, 2002, and 2003.

Speaking on behalf of Mr Parvin, he said: "Even if that profit wasn't from a year-and-a-half ago, Mr Parvin would be left in excess of £100,000 in the red if he paid his staff the £7-an-hour which staff in council-run nursing homes get.

"He can't afford to pay more than the minimum wage."

A spokesperson from the trust said it was working with the council and owners to help keep the home open.

"However, we are gravely concerned by the possibility that the decision to close is based around a property deal, when the focus must be on the welfare of the residents," he said.

The protest march will start at 10am from the coach carpark on Rectory Lane, Guisborough, and will go up Chaloner Street to the Market Cross.