Plans are forging ahead to transform one of Cheltenham's biggest former commercial sites into a 66-bed care home.

Heating firm Adey Ltd  had its headquarters at the Gloucester Road site for 15 years but relocated to Stonehouse in 2021 where it employs 130 people.

The building will now be demolished after an application to redevelop the site was allowed on appeal.

The firm, founded by Chris Adey 20 years ago in his garden shed, is one of Gloucestershire's biggest success stories. He won two Queen's Award for innovation thanks to his pioneering work in maintaining and protecting central heating systems.

He left the firm in 2016 and it was sold to Doncaster-headquartered Polypipe in 2021 for £210 million.

Care home company LNT Care Developments, which has locations in Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South, applied in December 2021 to redevelop the site.

It said in its application: "The proposed development would be very much a local community facility.

"Residents of the home would be expected to emanate from an area no more than three miles from the site or be associated with families/relatives that reside within this same catchment.

"The majority of the jobs created at the care home would also be expected to be filled by suitable candidates from the same local area."

However, Cheltenham Borough Council refused the proposals (21/02700/FUL) in August 2022 as it said the applicant provided insufficient evidence that the care home was needed.

Following a hearing, the plans were allowed on appeal (22/00027/PP1) in March.

The inspector said: "I consider that there is reasonably likely to be a future increase in the number of elderly who have conditions whose needs cannot effectively be met within the community, such as dementia.

"As such, the demand for high dependency nursing and dementia care provision in care homes will continue to rise in the future on the basis of a predicted rise in the elderly population.