LANGHAM Court on Ridgway Road was once home to 43 self-contained sheltered flats for elderly people with warden accommodation. But, uproar was caused when the road to a new housing development site shared its name.

Mount Green Housing Association acquired the building in 2010, and after several attempts to fill vacancies, the developers took the decision to shut it down. Nick Ronald, chief executive, told the Herald they had “made huge efforts to let it, even to another age group, and still didn’t succeed”. He added they did their “best to handle the closure as sensitively as we could”.

The last residents were relocated in July 2013, but it wasn’t until January 2016 that demolition of the flats commenced.

A post to the Facebook group, Farnham Rants, from care worker Emma Hobbs read: “I feel it’s insensitive to the elderly of the original building and many are upset that they have chosen to call it this.

“It wasn’t just a house, it was their home. Surely it could of been named something else!”

Following on from Miss Hobbs’ ‘rant’, a poll was created asking page members whether ‘yes’, the name should be recycled and kept as Langham Court, or ‘no’, the developers need to have a rethink and give it a new name. When the Herald went to print, 320 people had voted no and only 18 had voted yes.

Miss Hobbs is an independent elderly carer whose clients once lived in Langham Court. Her auntie had also been a resident and “had happy times there”.

Miss Hobbs continued: “It’s disrespectful of their memories there and when they were asked to leave. It all got very sad - it’s rubbing salt in the wound.

“I was enraged that they renamed it that because it meant so much to a lot of people.

“Surely they knew what it was before, it’s very disappointing that they haven’t taken those feelings into account.”

Joyce Ansell is one of Miss Hobbs’ clients who was previously a resident at Langham Court for 18 years. Prior to that, she had been a home helper there for 10 years.

She said: “We were one big happy family and we were broken up and sent our separate ways.

“There’s only one Langham Court for us - I am very much against it being called that again. They built over a lot of memories.

“The flats became empty and they weren’t filling them up, we had no idea that was what they intended to do.

“I can understand why they named it that, but we just don’t want another Langham Court thank you very much.”

Mr Ronald explained to the Herald that the postal address had been retained “mainly because it was a popular name”.

He added: “At no point has anybody raised an issue with the name.

“If there had been a concern we could have happily discussed it.

“There’s been big hoardings up and planning was gained some time ago - it’s not been a secret. It’s a shame they didn’t come and talk to us.

“We thought the name would be welcome. We weren’t aware that anyone was unhappy.”

Mr Ronald believed it was now too late to change the name.