Move to reopen former West Bromwich care home as supported living accommodation for adults with mental illnesses

The now empty, former care home for people with mental illnesses on Beeches Road in West Bromwich would re-open as supported living under plans by charity Commonweal Housing.

The application submitted to Sandwell Council said the building would be used to accommodate up to 12 adults with “severe mental illness who have recently left, or are exiting, the criminal justice system.”

The accommodation and support would be run by mental health and housing charity Servol.

A statement included with the application said: “The applicant proposes to lease the application property to Servol Community Services which intends to provide accommodation, alongside personal and nursing care on site for individuals with severe mental illnesses which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.

“The submitted information demonstrates that the proposed occupants of the accommodation are evidently in need of care; with the care proposed to be provided including the administration of prescribed medications; assistance with personal hygiene, cooking and cleaning; in addition to counselling and therapy.”

St Andrew’s Court in Beeches Road was a care home for up to 12 people with mental health needs but was forced to close in 2020 after it was rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and has remained empty since.

The facility was placed in special measures following the CQC inspection in late 2019 over “serious concerns” which eventually saw its registration removed and the residents moved to new accommodation.

The care watchdog said McLaren House Ltd had failed to protect residents from harm and abuse.

McLaren House Ltd also ran Rowena Court in the town’s Beeches Road and McLaren House in Bratt Street, West Bromwich, both of which were also rated inadequate in 2020 by the CQC.

There are several care homes already open in Beeches Road, which is nestled between West Bromwich town centre and Sandwell Valley next to West Bromwich Expressway.

Neighbouring land in Beeches Road, which is now overgrown, fenced-off and a hotspot for fly-tipping, was home to a four-bed home before plans to demolish it for two new homes was approved by Sandwell Council in 2014.

The local authority’s planners gave the green light for plans to build two luxury four and six-bed homes that came with a games room, cinema, en-suites and an orangery but while the building was demolished, the new homes were never built.

Subsequent plans to build eight homes and then three seven-bed homes on the land were approved in 2019 and 2022 but again were not carried out.