THURROCK could be about to gain an 86-bed care home along with eight homes especially designed to cater for the elderly.

Propco (Grays) Ltd has submitted a planning application to Thurrock Council to build on a site adjacent to the Alf Lowne Scout Centre, Richmond Road, Grays.

The site is on the former Thurrock Adult Community College which was demolished in 2021. The scout centre will remain with its own access.

The two-acre, L-shaped site, which lies between Bridge Road and Richmond Road, will have its own internal roads and open spaces.

If approved, the care home will have two wings connected to a lobby entrance. There will be 31 bedrooms on the ground floor, 36 bedrooms on the first floor and 19 bedrooms on the second floor, each with en-suites.

Two dining rooms will be provided on each floor to serve the wings with fresh food and snacks. Facilities will include a café, cinema, hair salon and family room. First and second floor lounges will have balconies overlooking the garden.

The eight homes will consist of a terrace of four, three-bedroom homes and two pairs of semi-detached four-bedroom. The homes will provide both residential care and specialist dementia care.

The 2022 South Essex Housing Needs Assessment indicated that, in Thurrock, 295 bed spaces are needed in communal establishments at an average of 15 beds per annum up to 2040. The demand for specialist housing also includes 843 sheltered homes.

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In their application, Propco said: "It is clear that there is a shortage of care home beds across Thurrock as the number of beds identified within the borough does not align with the actual need for care home bed spaces.

Projections indicate that the population will continue to age and the instances of age related diseases such as dementia will also increase. The need for such specialist care beds will only increase."

The applicant added: "The care home will become an integral part of the community through the creation of local employment opportunities outreach opportunities and hosting of local community groups."