Councillors are set to discuss plans for the demolition and redevelopment of a care home in the heart of Holyport.
Bupa Care Homes is seeking permission to knock down and rebuild Holyport Lodge care home at the junction of the Green and Ascot Road.
The former care home building has been vacant since 2019 because of ‘structural and health and safety issues’ and ‘severe asbestos risk’, according to planning documents.
Pre-application discussions between the developer and the council about the redevelopment started in April 2023.
The council’s planning department said the scale and appearance of the proposed care home is considered acceptable and the plans should be approved.
A total of 52 en-suite bedrooms with specialist facilities and 24-hour care will house residents living with dementia. This is an increase from the 40 rooms in the existing care home.
The existing forecourt will be realigned and used as a 24-space car park, including an ambulance bay and EV charging points.
The proposals also include communal and wellbeing facilities such as activity rooms for the residents, a kitchen and laundry room on site and sensory gardens.
The Royal Borough has received a number of objection letters with one resident claiming the design of the new care home will ‘stick out like a sore thumb’ next to the ‘beautiful and historic’ village green.
Other objections said the redevelopment is ‘inappropriate’ within the Holyport Conservation Area.
The site is based in a prominent position within the village’s conservation area but Bupa said the new design would acknowledge the site’s significance within this.
The land is technically greenbelt – but because it is previously developed, it is in the Government’s new ‘grey belt’ classification, says Bupa – namely, a place where building is considered acceptable.
At a Bray Parish Council planning meeting in October, councillors recommended the plans for refusal after raising questions around possible parking strain and an increase in HGV traffic during construction.
However, the Royal Borough’s planning officers said that ‘on balance’ the redevelopment’s scale, appearance, layout and landscaping is ‘acceptable’.
A report submitted by the developer also projected that demand for care homes is expected to rise.
By 2038, the demand for standard care bedrooms is expected to reach 580 in the Royal Borough, with 337 of these needed as dedicated dementia beds, the report said.
Planning conditions, including a travel plan and a carbon off-set contribution, will have to be met first, however.
The Maidenhead development management committee will meet at the Town Hall in Maidenhead on Thursday, January 22.
