Plans for new care home in Oldbury to be discussed after neighbours object
A decision on converting an apartment block opposite a primary school into a care home for the elderly will be made next week.
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The planning application to convert the flats at 63 to 65 Rood End Road, Oldbury, opposite Rood End Primary School, into a 17-bed care home attracted 15 objections from neighbours over concerns about a lack of parking.
The objectors criticised the plan saying it did not provide enough parking spaces which would cause further congestion in the ‘already suffering’ Rood End Road.
Despite the level of opposition, Sandwell Council’s planning officers have recommended the application should be approved when councillors meet next week.
The original plan proposed 18 rooms and 12 parking spaces but one bedroom was removed to fit in a larger communal area following feedback and an extra parking space was also scrapped to provide a bigger outdoor space for residents.
The council’s highways officers raised no objections and said the proposed 11 parking spaces was enough.
The planning committee meets in Oldbury on September 4.
A statement included with the application said: “The proposed development is in response to an ageing population in the region and the applicant is seeking permission to provide a ‘high standard care’ living accommodation for able-bodied and frail adults.
“The applicants have first-hand experience in the healthcare industry and have worked in the field of nursing and care.
“The applicant, Mrs Kaur, is an experienced care nurse and her husband has over 20 years of building work experience in the construction industry, and he himself built the existing premises from new. In keeping with sustainability and ‘zero carbon’ targets, the applicant will only change the use of the existing building and no new build will be introduced as part of the scheme put forward.”
The application said the new care home would bring many employment opportunities but does not specify how many jobs would be created.
The flats were built in 2008 by the current applicant on the site of a former garage – filling the gap between the row of terraced houses in Rood End Road. Earlier plans for a three-storey apartment block were met with criticism from Sandwell Council and a compromise was eventually made to fill the gap in the road with a smaller building.
