Retirement home plan for former National Grid site

A RETIREMENT homes estate could be built near the town centre as a planning application was lodged with the council.

Developer McCarthy and Stone wants to build 57 extra care apartments and 16 bungalows on the former National Grid site on Coventry Road.

The complex would include 62 parking spaces with access from Short Way and would create 17 jobs.

The proposed housing includes two single-bedroom apartments and 14 two-bed- room units.

A Design and Access statement said of the architecture for the build: “Following precedents set by other buildings in the area, the proposal has repetitive protruding gables, helping to break up the frontage.

“The apartment building creates focal points at its corners, creating a sense of arrival to Short Way and the proposed feature square.

“Between the gables is a recessed top storey finished with TileBrick giving the effect of hanging tiles, further breaking up the mass.”

The front of the apartment building would be designed so there is a similar ridge height between the front of the apartment building and the neighbouring houses on Coventry Road.

Existing hedge would remain on the front of the site along its southern boundary to “retain its green feeling”.

The document said in its conclusion: “The development will significantly improve the exist- ing land condition and will be of great benefit to the surrounding area.”

Plans for the complex unveiled prior to the application said it would include a communal lounge, restaurant, guest suite and landscaped communal gardens.

A display of the plans took place at the Salvation Army on Lancaster Road with 25 people attending the event.

The former National Grid site has been vacant since 2015.

An outline application was made in December 2017 to demolish the now empty former National Grid offices adjacent to the new Redrow estate and construct up to 42 houses.

There are also plans to build a Lidl store on Coventry Road on the site of the HJ Hall factory, which was demolished in Autumn last year.

You can view the application and leave a comment on the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council website.

All comments need to be sent in by February 22 2019.