KIRKLEES Tories were this afternoon facing a demand to reinstate plans for a new care home at Dewsbury.
Lib-Dem councillor Dennis Hullock said a facility for old people with mental illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, was essential.
He was putting his case at a Cabinet meeting of the Tory-run council.
Clr Hullock's plea came after Lib-Dem and Labour councillors united last week to condemn a decision to sell off the vacant Ashworth Court site to the private sector.
Clr Hullock said: "When the Lib Dems were in charge of the council our vision was for an affordable, world class, council run residential care service for older people.
"On the Ashworth Court site, we were going to build a state of the art home for older people with mental illnesses, such as Alzheimer's.
"We took this decision after careful research and exhaustive consultation especially with older people and their families.
"We had budgeted for the building and running of the new home. So there is no justification to sell it off to a private developer."
At last week's full council meeting, Tory Cabinet councillor Margaret Bates said that selling the building would save the council £10m over the next 20 years.
She said: "There is a case here for being prudent. People are always saying that their council tax bills are constantly rising. This will save the council £10m over the next 20 years.
"We do not want service overspending. If you look at this long term, then this is why we have gone for this."
