Bishop's Castle care home plans to expand

The planning application has been submitted to build a new extension block at The Grange in Bishop's Castle.

The building in Kerry Lane that once housed the town's police station.

The Grange complex currently provides a home for 22 older people, some of whom suffer from dementia and require specialist care, but the plans are to overhaul the site and add a single-storey extension to make room for eight more residents.

Chartered accountant W Stephen Andrews, in a report on behalf of The Grange Care Providers Ltd, said the care home stands in its own grounds in the Bishop's Castle conservation area, with two flats and an under-used staff building at the rear, though the main building provides the bulk of the accommodation.

He said: "The main building at the Grange, which was formerly a police station, is late Victorian.

"It is imposing, if characteristically rather pompous. The building is clearly very prominent in Kerry Lane and, as such, contributes significantly to the character of the conservation area."

He said none of the buildings on the site are listed, but Shropshire Council advisors deemed the site to have "archaeological potential" so some work may have to be carried out before the development can be completed.

He said: "The proposal is to extend the care home to increase its capacity to 30, taking the opportunity to improve facilities.

"This will be achieved by a new-build link block to the west of the main building, providing four new bedrooms, plus alteration work to the under-utilised building to provide a further four rooms.

"The alteration work will include the installation of a lift and will also form a new lounge, treatment and hairdressing room plus a small kitchen and utility room on the ground floor.

"An orangery and residents' sitting out and garden area are also planned."

He said the new block will include a covered corridor linking the main building with the converted staff building, so that staff and residents can come and go safely and conveniently.

"The existing rooms on the upper level will be re-ordered to provide bedrooms of at least 12 square metres, each with an en-suite bathroom or shower room.

"A staff office will also be provided at the upper level," he said.

"The design of the new block will be sympathetic to the character and appearance of the existing buildings. The form, materials and detailing will be predominantly traditional in character," he added.