Planning permission granted for our first care home in more than 40 years
Friday, 29 January 2021
We've just been granted planning permission for a residential care home in Leighton Buzzard; the first we've built in more than 40 years.
The 63-bed home is on the site of the former police station on Hockliffe Road and includes private and secure outdoor space, as well as community and multi-purpose spaces.
Find out more about our new care home in Leighton Buzzard.
Councillor Eugene Ghent, our Executive Member for Housing and Assets, said:
The approval of this application is fantastic news and a major step forward in our ambitions to offer a choice of homes for older people in the area.
This home will be the first we've built in more than 40 years, demonstrating our commitment to respond to a growing and rapidly ageing population that need access to a range of homes better suited to people with increasingly complex care needs.
Now approved, construction (subject to the appointment of a contractor) can start on site from April 2021. It will take around a year to build.
There is currently a care home in Leighton Buzzard, which we manage, but it is quite old and in need of updating. In 2019, our Executive Committee approved the closure of the current care home (Westlands Older Persons’ Home) following a formal consultation period. When the new care home is built on Hockliffe Road, our current residents will have the choice of moving into it.
Our Executive Committee also agreed, in September 2019, to establish a care company. This company, Care is Central, will be wholly owned by us and will deliver care services independently. It is planned that this company will deliver the care in the new Hockliffe Road care home.