Plans for new care home set to be approved

Plans for a new 72-bed care home in a village in Leicestershire have been recommended to be approved – but local GPs warn they are already at full capacity and will not be able to "safely absorb" the extra demand.

Charnwood Borough Council's planning committee is scheduled to debate an application from Aspire LPP to build a new care facility on Ratcliffe Road in Sileby.

The complex would include a cafe, hair and beauty salon, cinema room and 34 parking spaces, and requires the demolition of an existing two-storey detached home, associated outbuildings and garages.

Planning officers have recommended the scheme for approval, with the committee meeting at Loughborough's Town Hall on 27 August.

Under the proposals, the developer would have to pay Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland ICB more than £28,000 as part of a section 106 agreement.

In planning documents, the applicant said a "significant" level of development was needed to "keep pace" with the rate of older population growth and to offset recent care home closures.

However, with two existing care homes in the village and hundreds more homes in the pipeline, local healthcare providers have raised concerns that they will not be able to meet the demand.

A representative from The Banks Surgery said they have "significant concerns regarding the impact this development will have on local primary healthcare services", with the planned development "likely to generate further demand from patients with complex and high-dependency medical needs".

"Our practice is currently operating at full capacity and is already experiencing considerable pressure in meeting the needs of our existing patient population," a spokesperson said.

"At present, we do not have the clinical capacity, staffing levels, or infrastructure to safely absorb this additional demand."

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