Planners to rule on 73-bed care home application for Dudley office building
Dudley Council is set to deliver its verdict on the latest plans for a derelict office building in Kingswinford.
The authority has received an application to demolish Hampshire House on High Street to make way for a 73-bedroom specialist care home for dementia provision.
The proposed building would provide accommodation over mostly two storeys to minimise the impact of its appearance however some parts of the development would be three storeys high.
A statement submitted with the application from Stem Architects Limited said: “In an effort to minimise the mass of the building; the building has been designed with a flat roof and parapet to reduce the impact of the roof construction, along with the use of different materials to the second floor elevations to give the building a visually residential appearance and scale.”
Plans also include parking places for 25 vehicles on the 0.45 hectare site.
Applicants Torsion Care say although there are 28 registered care homes within a three-mile radius of the site, only two have been constructed in the last ten years.
In their statement with the application, Torsion Care said: “This puts a significant burden on first generation, 80s and 90s built care homes, which oftentimes are no longer fit-for-purpose or are often converted properties, built without the resident in mind.
“A common issue in older and converted properties is the lack of ensuite facilities, and it is often the case that those that can incorporate a proportion of ensuite rooms are only able to provide WC and sink.
“The lack of recent care home developments suggests the area of Kingswinford has a significant requirement for a newly developed facility.”
Not everyone is keen on the development, so far the application has attracted three letters of objection.
Among concerns raised by nearby residents are noise and dust from construction while overlooking affecting neighbouring properties, parking and more traffic in surrounding streets have also been highlighted as possible problems.
The appearance of the proposed building has also bothered one objector who said: “It looks like a prison”.
