PLANNING councillors have welcomed and approved plans for an 82-bed, three-storey care home in Grays.

The application for the facility to be built on  open land at the junction of Dell Road and Orsett Road, from Dell Road Developments Limited, was debated and decided at a meeting of Thurrock Council's planning committee on Tuesday, 24 February.

The care home will be set out on two and three floors. 33 car parking spaces will be provided, plus provision is made for cycle parking. A new site access junction is proposed from Dell Road.  

At the meeting a statement of support was read out by Danny Simmonds on behalf of the applicants in which he said the proposed operator is the established Artisan Care Group, part of Avery Healthcare, which operates many care homes across the country.

He said: "The home is designed to offer a range of care needs, including palliative, respite and specialist dementia care.

"It will far exceed the specific design standards of the Care Quality Commission and all rooms will have full ensuite facilities including shower facilities.

"Careful consideration has been given to the design of the care home and provision of amenity space. A total of 1,629 square metres of external amenity space is provided. The added benefit of the location is it is opposite Grays Town Park."

The site location in Grays, showing the sports facility which prompted a question from Cllr Tom Kelly.

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The site will have 33 car parking spaces provided which is in excess of the recommended number for a building of its size.

Mr Simmonds added that it is relevant that the site is in a sustainable location on the edge of the town centre with proximity to the train station and bus stops.

And he told councillors the care home would create approximately 100 permanent jobs, both full-time and part-time.

Cllr Tom Kelly asked if the adjacent school floodlit artificial pitch, which is in regular use in the evenings, was perceived to be a problem but he was advised not and the new building design minimised its potential impact.

Cllr Sue Shinnick appeared concerned about outdoor, space, asking if it was sufficient, prompting Mr Simmonds to repeat his earlier statement saying that it was well beyond the expected level and his colleague and project architect Andy Place added: "In our experience it's also about the quality of space and there is good covered space as well. Compared to a majority of schemes we have done, this is above average."

A view from the rear of the planned development.

Cllr Lynda Heath, questioned the number of parking spaces and if they would meet demand. She was told: "It's a good question, we do think it will and the reason we do is that car parking figures are based on studies around shift patterns and hours of work.

We've undertaken surveys in the local area.

"What we have come up with is 0.4 spaces per bed, which is above average and 25 per cent above what the operator would normally apply. It is a generous application."

Mr Simmonds added that the site was also 'sustainable in terms of public transport for staff and visitors.'

Cllr Kelly asked how visitors would be managed and Mr Simmonds said: "They can come any time. The operators have got 100 care homes and they know what provision needs to be made at their locations."

Cllr Russell Cherry appeared to echo thoughts within the chamber when he said: "It's a nice scheme," and the application was approved.