An unusual circular landmark in the Cotwolds could soon disappear from the map in planners agree to its replacement.

Wyatt House, a "cramped" doughnut-shaped 1970s care home in Stroud that fell into disrepair in the wake of a failing inspection report will be erased from the map to make way for a modern facility, if Stroud planners back the project.

The existing Wyatt House Care Home, just off Mathews Way and Archway Gardens in Paganhill, Stroud, was marketed by Alder King after it closed in 2019. 

Filed in the previous year, a Care Quality Commission inspection report for the Order of St John Trust home reported that the facility, which accommodated 30 people and also offered a day-care centre, required improvement across three of the authority's five essential criteria.

Exemplar Health Care (EHC) now proposes a 38-bed centre to help people with complex needs in an entirely new setting. Based in Rotherham, EHC dates back to 1999 and is a healthcare management consultancy and training firm with interests largely across the north and Midlands.

If approved, the Stroud project will be among new care homes EHC (which was taken over by Agilitas in July 2016 and subsequently acquired by private equity group Ares Management Corporation four years later) also plans in Knowsley, Leeds, Ashton-under-Lyne, Telford, South Elmsall, Burnley, Bishop Auckland and Cannock.

A Design and Access statement from Harris Irwin Architects outlines the proposal for a three-storey, 38-bed home on the 0.84-acre site, along with new access and landscaping. 

The statement said: "The design will be light, bright, spacious and homely with easy access to amenities including a community hub, dining rooms, lounges and therapy facilities as well as an additional guest bedroom.

"All ground floor amenity areas and bedrooms will have direct access to enclosed secure landscaped areas where possible. The outdoor areas will be sensitively designed providing the residents with a better quality of life and well-being."

In urging planners to agree on demolition, the architects said their structural surveys showed the existing building was built using a reinforced concrete frame with brickwork infill panels and UPVC windows beneath a flat roof.

They reported: "The building is essentially two storey in nature but due to the slope of the site the building presents only a single storey to the north to Archway Gardens. The building provided 30 cellular bedrooms but fell out of use in 2019, presumably as a result of the cramped unsuitable nature of the accommodation.

"We presume the building was in a poor condition at the time it's [sic] care use was suspended but it has continued to deteriorate."

Inspections discovered "significant water ingress and extensive mould growth," while a suspected high level of asbestos was also reported.

The report added: "electrical services... have reached the end of their useful life and any remaining internal equipment is beyond being serviceable."

Existing accommodation also fell "far below that which we would consider an appropriate environment to provide care both in terms of the facilities and spatial and access standards for those using wheelchairs or requiring hoisting".

Stroud Town Council has been asked to respond to the proposal by July 4.