Dementia home changes and new storage unit in Kirkby - all the latest Ashfield plans

The Loxley Lodge home on School Street in Kirkby is currently closed for renovation work to "upgrade its facilities to provide high-quality dementia care”.

The work will include a small extension at the back of the property, so the home has applied to Ashfield District Council to demolish its existing extension, construct a replacement and also a new boundary fence, with gates at the front.

The privately-run, 42-bedroom home provides accommodation and personal care and support for adults with dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities. At its latest full inspection by the Care Quality Commission, it was rated ‘Good’.

The application has been submitted by the Newark-based company Hatzfeld Care Ltd, which specialises in supporting people with dementia and mental-health challenges.

Hatzfeld’s agent, architectural design company Wtad Ltd, of Beverley in east Yorkshire, has submitted a planning statement to the council.

It states that the current extension “does not provide the quality or space required due to lack of insulation and its small scale”

The new extension would be larger, increasing by 32 square metres to 43 square metres, and would be used as a staff kitchen and for storage.

Wtad says the proposed 1.5 metre-high fence would provide security for Loxley Lodge residents and also “prevent schoolchildren (from the nearby Morven Park Primary) running about on the car parking areas which has been a problem over previous years”.

It adds: “Care has been taken to provide the right type of fence which will sit best in the environment. A decision was made to use a bow-top, railed fence due to its softer appearance.”

The council’s planning officers are currently considering the scheme and have set a deadline date of Tuesday, April 8 for a decision or recommendation.

Meanwhile, they are also studying an application by the award-winning Kirkby-based self-storage company, Store First, to build a new industrial storage unit at its premises on Observatory Way within a busy complex close to Low Moor Road.

A planning statement says the unit “would fulfil an ever-increasing need for industrial units in the area, as evidenced by continuing developments on surrounding sites”.

It would sit on land currently occupied by unused parking bays. It would be “of a high-quality, modern finish” and “flexible enough to encourage a wide range of businesses”.

The Store First facility at Kirkby offers a range of storage solutions and boasts 24-hour access, robust security, such as CCTV cameras, and an on-site kitchen.

Other planning applications received by Ashfield Council include these:

Forest Farm, Blidworth Road, Kirkby – work to tree covered by preservation order.

Eon UK Ltd, Little Oak Drive, Annesley – application to determine if prior approval is required for demolition of office building.

Wilkinson, Outram Street, Sutton – application to display illuminated advertisement.

115 Phoenix Street, Sutton – single-storey extension at side.

21 Saville Road, Sutton – single-storey extension at rear.

53 Stanton Crescent, Sutton – notification of a proposed larger single-storey extension at rear.

Croft Cottage, Bleak Hall, Beauvale Road, Kirkby – demolition of side extension, construction of two-storey side extension and single-storey rear extension, and new boundary wall, gates and landscaping