Care homes project on verge of gaining council approval

The Broadacres Housing Association has submitted plans which would see Orchard House at Brompton, near Northallerton, demolished and accommodation for dozens of people built in its place.

Members of Hambleton District Council environmental health and housing committee have already approved funding of more than £2.3m and the development will go ahead if planning permission is granted next week.

Orchard House, built in the late 1970s, is currently a sheltered housing scheme offering 17 flats and 21 bedsits.

But council leaders have been concerned about the deteriorating state of the site in recent years, with it becoming increasingly difficult to let places in the building.

A study carried out last year looked for ways to bring the building up to standard, but showed that any major improvements would be impractical and not cost-effective.

But discussions with North Yorkshire County Council highlighted the need for fully independent sheltered housing units for elderly people in Hambleton.

The renovation proposal by Broadacres would create 34 flats and three bungalows, with other facilities including a central lounge, laundry area and cafe.

The planning officer dealing with the application, Diane Baines, has recommended that councillors should give it their backing.

She said the development, which would also include an 11-space car park, would not be out of character with the area.

"Given the specialist accommodation provided, which is served off communal corridors, entrances and shared central facilities, the scale and density of the development is considered acceptable," she said.

"The new development is broadly within the same footprint of the existing building, but manages to make more efficient use of the site by having accommodation facing outwards and inwards on to a central courtyard."

The matter will be discussed by members of Hambleton council's planning committee at the civic centre, in Northallerton, on Thursday