THE fate of county council care homes in West Devon looks to be revealed next month. Consultation documents outlining recommendations by Devon County Council for individual care homes were made available to the public by the council on its website. That public consultation closed last month. The proposals are part of the county council's 'Tough Choices' cuts — the authority needs to save £110-million over the next four years — and have sparked a huge response, according to public sector workers' union UNISON. Among the recommendations by the county council was that Harewood House in Tavistock, along with its day care and specialist dementia unit, should be closed. Thirty five staff are employed at the home, serving the needs of 17 long term elderly residents and six other short stay ones. Their conclusion and decisions could also have an effect on the Molly Owen Centre in Tavistock, along with the Wardhayes care home, Poppy Centre for day care and the Puzzle Tree/Lyric care facilities in Okehampton. The Devon county branch of UNISON has received 22,824 signatures petitioning against the county council's proposal to close 20 residential homes in Devon — the biggest response to a proposal the branch has ever had. The branch said it is fiercely opposed to the council's proposal to close all but two of its residential homes, which would put more than 770 jobs at risk and have a devastating impact on the local economy. Many residents, it claims, could have to move miles away from their home town, causing huge amounts of stress and anxiety both for themselves and their friends and families. In response to the council's consultation on closing the homes, the branch has written to county councillors asking them to re-examine alternative solutions to the proposals, which it says exist in other cash-strapped local authorities. A number of local district and town councils continue to question the rationale behind the closures, to the point that the council is now holding a special meeting in May to determine if their proposal to close the homes is the right decision. Steve Ryles, UNISON Devon County branch secretary, said: 'The response from our members and local people has been unprecedented. 'Residents, carers and families all want to keep the homes open.' Mr Ryles added: 'There is an incredible groundswell of local anxiety, disbelief, and outrage around the proposals, which many people feel is based on inaccurate attendance figures and related costs. 'We think the council clearly got its sums wrong, as only 18 months ago, it was talking about creating 10 new centres of dementia excellence at the cost of millions — but now it's proposing to slash front line services. 'We understand that the council has to reduce its budget due to the Government's savage austerity measures. However, we also think the council has a duty to ensure that our local taxes are used to protect essential front line services.' A spokesman for Devon County Council said: 'The council will take time now to look closely at all the responses it has received as part of the consultation and give them full consideration before making any decision. 'The council is hoping to make a decision next month.'