Mid Sussex MP Alison Bennett Visits Keymer Hall

Keymer Hall, the Boutique Care Homes residence on Kings Way in Burgess Hill, welcomed Alison Bennett MP for a visit and seminar with team and residents. The Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Sussex spent the morning touring the home, meeting residents and staff, and speaking to the room on the issues shaping the news that week.

Bennett was elected MP for Mid Sussex in July 2024, having served as a district councillor in Hurstpierpoint beforehand. She has lived locally for around twelve years, and it showed in how she moved through the visit: less a formal engagement, more a conversation between neighbours.

Home Manager Christine Bunce showed her round first. “Our residents were so looking forward to meeting Alison, and it was wonderful to see her take the time to really get to know them,” she said. “Visits like this mean a great deal to the people who live here. It’s a chance to feel connected to what’s happening beyond our doors, from someone who represents them directly.”

After the tour, Bennett gave residents a wide-ranging talk covering current affairs, touching on topics from the state of the environment and water quality to social welfare, early prison releases, and security for MPs. The talk was followed by a lively question and answer session, with residents keen to put their own questions to her directly.

Bennett also took time to speak privately with several residents during her visit, a personal touch that residents and team alike said made the afternoon feel less like an official appearance and more like a proper visit.

“It was a real pleasure to visit Keymer Hall and spend time getting to know the residents and staff,” Bennett said. “I thoroughly enjoyed talking about my journey as an MP and discussing the issues that matter to residents during a thoughtful and wide-ranging Q&A. Visits like this are also an important opportunity for me to hear directly from older people in our community and from those working every day to provide high-quality care and support.”

Ameet Kotecha, Founder and Managing Director of Boutique Care Homes, welcomed the visit as part of the group’s wider commitment to keeping its homes connected to the communities around them. “Care doesn’t happen in isolation, and it shouldn’t feel isolated either,” he said. “When someone like Alison gives up an afternoon to sit with our residents and hear what’s on their minds, that’s exactly the kind of connection we want every Boutique Care Homes resident to have. It’s what small, local homes can offer that larger providers often can’t.”

For the residents of Keymer Hall, the visit was a reminder that good care extends beyond the walls of the home itself. It’s built on the relationships, conversations and small moments that make a house feel like part of its community, not apart from it.