PLANS to demolish a vacant St Helier nursing home and build 16 new homes in its place have been submitted.
The proposals include replacing the buildings previously occupied by the Palm Springs Nursing Home on Trinity Hill with three one-bed, nine two-bed and four three-bed residential units.
The application says that the age and condition of the buildings have made them unusable as a nursing home.
A submission to the government’s planning website by MSPlanning, on behalf of applicants PS Developments, stated: ‘The application site consists of a large, detached building, last actively used as a nursing home, and a detached residential dwelling. The nursing home is currently vacant. Its closure was due in part to the inability of the current building to accommodate the significant physical upgrades required to continue to operate as a nursing home, to meet all the currently adopted standards for such accommodation.
‘The redevelopment of the site will provide 12 flats and two pairs of semi-detached dwellings at the more affordable end of the market. Both parts of the development would have dedicated parking, improved vehicular access, dedicated refuse storage areas, secure and covered storage for two bicycles per unit of accommodation and private amenity areas for all ground-floor units and balconies for those above that level.
‘It is considered that the proposed replacement of the former nursing home and owner’s accommodation with two new residential buildings represents development in accordance with adopted planning policies.’
MSPlanning said that the proposals represented ‘an appropriately designed replacement to the existing building which is not particularly attractive’.
‘The 16 units have the potential to deliver much-needed homes for families in a sustainable location, well linked to infrastructure and services.
‘It will make efficient use of land within the local centre designation of the built-up area, which will help to reduce pressure on developing green-field sites in the countryside and is the type and form of development that is actively encouraged by the Island Plan, meeting the need for new homes in a range of sizes,’ the planning statement continued.
‘The scale, form, siting and design of the proposal is considered to be appropriate and has been carefully designed to maintain a good relationship with neighbouring properties, with no unreasonable impact to amenity and the retention of the extremely mature boundary planting on the west of the site where it adjoins Trinity Hill.’
