Fresh care home plans for derelict site

The site owner, Hazeldene Project Management, wants to build a three-storey care home with 88 bedrooms at Grove Park, the former William Moon Lodge site, in The Linkway.

The company already has two existing planning permissions for a two-storey care home at Grove Park. One set of approved plans includes 100 bedrooms while the other has 75 bedrooms.

William Moon Lodge was home to Sussex Lantern from 1994 until 2006 when the charity for the partially sighted moved out as it could no longer afford to maintain the 43-year-old building.

The site has remained empty for ten years after the original 1963 former care home was demolished.

In the latest application the ground floor would be below street level while the building would have a smaller footprint than in previous plans.

The proposed buildings in previous applications were closer to the edge of the site. The new plans indicate that the building would more central, with more room for parking.

The 39 proposed parking spaces would be more than double the 18 offered in previous applications.

Each floor in the planned home would house people with different needs.

The ground floor would have 27 rooms for people discharged from hospital but unable to go home.

The first floor would have 31 rooms for those who need residential care but do not have dementia.

The second floor would have 30 rooms for people requiring dementia care and mental health care.

Planning consultant Lewis & Co described the latest proposed building as “visually superior” to those in previous applications.

The application is also intended to deal with neighbours’ concerns about parking raised after previous plans were submitted.

Lewis & Co said: “The scheme responds to earlier comments made by residents with regard to car parking levels by proposing an increase in parking compared to earlier schemes.

“This will help alleviate parking stress, especially in The Linkway which is a narrow road where parking is only available on one side of the road.”

Neighbours said that there were parking problems, with the site so close to St Joseph’s RC Primary School, especially at morning and afternoon pick-up time.

An outlying badger sett would be removed from the site once construction begins, according to the proposal.

The application is open for comment on the council’s online planning pages, reference BH2018/02051.

Sarah Booker-Lewis is the Local Democracy Reporter for Brighton & Hove.

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