The question of the closure of housing for the elderly in Misterhult has aroused much emotion in Oskarshamn municipality. A protest list gathered over 2,300 names, which would be enough to demand a referendum on the issue. But municipal directors and lawyers estimated that only a tenth of the names were valid.
Before Monday's city council, politicians stood in two camps: on one side M and S who wanted to reject the demand for a referendum. On the other hand, the other parties gathered, who wanted to stop the settlement until after a referendum took place.
But after debate, it was the moderates and the Social Democrats who weighed most heavily with 25 of the 49 council seats. The decision was thus to reject the requirement for a referendum, says the municipal board chairman Andreas Erlandsson (S) to SVT Småland.
And the winding up of the elderly will continue.
Does this mean that the question is behind you now?
- I hope so. But it is not impossible that anyone will appeal if the decision is legally correct. What I see has not been tried before and the People's Initiative claims that the conditions are met, says Andreas Erlandsson.