Fresh bid to revive closed care home -- all the latest Ashfield plans

The privately-owned Shires Care Centre at The Oval in Sutton used to house up to 42 residents until it shut in 2018 after a sub-standard inspection report.

The prominent building has since been fenced off and boarded up and is now in danger of deteriorating into an eyesore.

Last year, a plan emerged to revive the home by adding a third storey and creating three single-storey extensions and one two-storey extension. There would have been 69 bedrooms and the home would have employed 37 full-time staff.

The scheme was rejected by Ashfield District Council officers, who said the scale of the plan failed to make adequate provision for off-street parking, which would have endangered highway safety. Also inadequate was the proposed private outdoor space for residents.

However, the applicant, 53-year-old businessman Krishna Singh, of London-based real-estate firm, Aran Krishna Ltd, is back with a new, slimmed-down proposal.

He has submitted a planning application to Ashfield Council for the construction of three ground-floor extensions and one first-floor extension.

The scheme includes 11 car-parking spaces and three cycle spaces, as well as a new sensory garden in a former courtyard area to help residents with dementia.

If the proposal gets the go-ahead, the home would have 43 bedrooms (17 on the ground floor and 26 on the first floor) and would employ 22 members of care staff providing 24-hour coverage.

Under its former guise, The Shires was dealt a hammer-blow in April 2016 when inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) uncovered five breaches of the Health and Social Care Act.

When they returned six months later, changes for the better had been made, but the home was still slapped with a ‘Requires Improvement’ rating.

After it closed in 2018, the building was sold for £752,000, according to The Move Market website. It is now valued at £1.24 million.

As his agent, Mr Singh has hired the Tibshelf-based company, Parker Liddle Architecture, which has compiled a planning statement to go with the latest application.

The statement says: “The current building has small rooms which no longer meet the size requirements of the CQC.

"This means it has not been used for a number of years and is currently unoccupied.

"To provide adequate facilities and to bring the care home into much-needed use, the applicant is looking to extend the size of the rooms and facilities.

"While providing more floor space, the extensions proposed would not increase the amount of rooms available. But they would provide much-needed extra space for the comfort of residents and would improve the facilities.”

The council’s planning officers are currently considering the proposal and have set a deadline date of Thursday, May 21 for a decision or recommendation.

Other planning applications received by Ashfield Council include these:

Former United Reformed Church, Nottingham Road, Selston – fell one ash tree covered by preservation order.

24 Burton Rise, Kirkby – amendment to planning permission already granted by adding one storage shed at front of each property.

145 Victoria Road, Kirkby – single-storey side extension and detached garage.

111 and 113 Portland Road, Selston – proposed self-build dwellings with associated gardens and parking space, but retain existing dwellings.

45 Stoney Lane, Selston – porch at front.

36 Hayden Lane, Hucknall – application for lawful development certificate for conversion of garage into a snug and bathroom, and raise flat roof by 600 millimetres to allow sufficient headroom.

THE details of many planning applications can be found in public notices advertised by local and regional newspapers. To catch up on all the latest public notices, go to https://publicnoticeportal.uk/