Care home plan progressing on former hospital site

The new care home is expected to open in 2027 if it wins planning permission

A project to turn a former hospital in Guernsey into a care home is progressing, with planning permission granted for some initial work.

The application approved related to the demolition of a building on the King Edward VII site in Castel.

Planning permission was approved on 9 September for the demolition of a building on a site earmarked for a 33-bedroom home at the site.

The Development and Planning Authority said CI Healthcare Limited can knock down the roadside building on the hospital site which closed in 2014.

The £5m project aims to help tackle some of the demand for care home places on the island.

CI Healthcare already runs four care homes in Guernsey and hopes to open the new facility in 2027.

It was selected by the government to lead part of the redevelopment of the hospital site.

The company's managing director Nick Trott pledged to "deliver a world class care facility" on the site.

Along with knocking down one building the work will also involve altering vehicle access at the north boundary of the site on Rue De La Perruque.

A report for the sub-committee said the building to be demolished was part of the original hospital which opened in 1902 but was of "no architectural merit".

It said the work would allow direct access from Rue de la Perruque to the existing parking area on the west side of the site and the proposals did not impact on the other existing buildings around the proposed parking area.