New plans have been revealed for the site of a former troubled Derby care home which suddenly closed last year. Windsor Park Nursing Home, in Blagreaves Lane, Littleover, shut down for good in June, leaving staff unemployed and residents forced to move into other care homes in the city.
It was reported at the time that the closure of the care home came less than a year after a damning report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) criticised it for a string of failures. The struggling nursing home had been rated as inadequate by the watchdog after an unannounced visit in July 2020 found there were not enough staff to care for residents effectively.
Despite its closure, the care home’s furniture and equipment is still stored at the site, which features a number of buildings. But now around 10 months after its closure, fresh new plans for the property have been submitted to Derby City Council due to the buildings needing “a new lease of life”.
Read more Derbyshire property stories
The plans are for the building to be converted into 14 self-contained apartments – meaning it won’t be used as a care home if the plans are approved. The proposed apartments will all be one-bedroomed, and will be “spacious and airy”, according to planning documents.
A statement submitted as part of the planning application states: “It is not practical to re-use the building as a care home due to its contrived layout, limited shared spaces, poor heating system and lack of amenity space. With a failed care home use behind it, the building needs a new lease of life in order to prevent it from falling into disrepair and becoming an eyesore.
“The conversion of the building into 14 self-contained apartments will be good for the local economy during the construction process in terms of local jobs. The residential occupation of the building following its conversion will be equally as good for the local economy as the future residents will use the local shops, services and facilities accordingly, and more so that the previous care home residents.”
The appearance of the buildings on the site “will not change as a result of this development”, the statement adds. Derby City Council is expected to make a final decision on the plans later this summer.