Care home planned for site no-one ever lived in

TWO buildings with 17 apartments no one has ever lived in are set to be demolished to make way for a 60-bed care home.

A planning application to rip down Monsell Gardens – a development billed as luxury living when it was built a decade ago – has been submitted to Leicester City Council.

Avery Healthcare wants to replace the “dilapidated” buildings with a “quality hotel-standard” facility.

A design and access statement with the application said: “The buildings have been left derelict for over 10 years and the general building materials and structure have been significantly affected by this and the lack of maintenance.

“The extent of the work required to convert the buildings is of a scale that would render the structure unsupportable and therefore makes it more efficient to reconstruct the buildings.”

Avery said after discussions with the city council “it was generally deemed by all involved that the existing buildings were not suitable for retention and re-use”.

A previous application, which sought permission to add to the existing buildings and create a 60-bed care home was approved in 2018.

If the new plans are approved the three-storey building will have 18 bedrooms, an entrance lobby, resident’s lounges, dining rooms and entertainment spaces on the ground floor.

On the first floor there will be 24 bedrooms and the second floor will have 18 bedrooms. Both of the upper floors will also have dining rooms and lounges.

The developer’s application said: “Care homes should be homely and resemble quality hotels as opposed to a cramped guest house or institutional environment.

“This application seeks to ratify the many applications made to this site and proposes to seek approval for the demolition of the apartment blocks and the erection of a new-build care home.”

The firm said 55 jobs would be created and the majority of residents would be from the area.

Some neighbours have written to the council raising concerns about access and parking. There are 15 parking spaces included on the plans for visitors, staff and residents.

In one letter a Monsell Garden resident said they were worried about the number of lorries making deliveries.

It said there are four other care homes nearby and the developers “should pay for any changes to the highway or infrastructure”.

The applicant said the home “will go a considerable way towards addressing an under-supply of provision”.