Officers at Tewkesbury Borough Council are recommending the Planning Committee gives the green light to a new care home at its meeting next week (January 21).

Care developer, Aspire LPP, has applied to the council for permission to demolish buildings at Mill Farm in Brockworth to make way for a 66-bed, three-storey care home.

The purpose-built home would provide both general residential care for older people and specialist dementia care, as well as creating 58 jobs for local people.

Projections show there is a real need for more care home beds - according to Planning Practice Guidance, in mid-2016 there were 1.6 million people aged 85 and over; by mid-2041 this is predicted to double to 3.2 million.

There is a current need for a further 152 beds in the Brockworth area and 233 across the wider borough. There are 10 existing homes within Tewkesbury borough - three providing residential care and seven providing nursing care.

The proposed care home would have solar panels with a battery storage system and ground source heat pumps providing up to 90% of its energy requirements from renewable energy sources.

But Brockworth Parish Council has objected to the proposals, despite the applicant changing the plans from an 82-bed development to the current proposal for 66 beds.

In response to the application, it said: "The Parish Council considers that while it has no objection to the redevelopment of the site, the submitted proposal is a clear overdevelopment of the site which will create substantial adverse impacts for the local area."

The NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (GICB) also objected to the plans for a number of reasons including:

• Access to safe outdoor space including being barrier free

• Dead end corridors

• Size of dining areas

The developer responded to the concerns, saying all doorways within the building, including those providing access to the external areas, are level and allow for all levels of mobility to access the garden independently. Doors in the main ground floor central lounge and end corridor quiet lounge are open to allow residents access to the patio and garden areas.

The end of corridor areas lead to smaller open sitting areas, stopping them from becoming dead ends.

Each floor has its own dining area, with no more than 25 residents using the dining room. Mealtimes will often be staggered to cater for residents' needs and the large dining room can be divided if needed to create smaller dining areas.

Officers are of the opinion that the applicant has addressed the comments raised by GICB as far as possible within a planning application and that any further outstanding issues of detail would be controlled by Building Regulations and the registration process with the CQC.

If planning permission is granted, the applicant won't be able to operate without first registering with CQC, which is a legal requirement. The CQC would inspect the building as part of the registration process and assess it to ensure it meets the requirements to operate as a care home.

Officers are recommending the committee gives the development the go-ahead.