GP surgery objects to 66-bed care home development

How the new care home in Hatton could look if approved by councillors

A GP surgery has objected to plans for a new 66-bed care home because it has "no space for extra patients".

LNT Care Development has applied to build the care home - which would provide specialist dementia care - on the site of the Salt Box cafe at the junction of Derby Road and Station Road in Hatton, Derbyshire.

But the proposals prompted objections from nearby residents and Dove River Practice in Tutbury, which said it already looked after patients in five care homes.

Councillors on South Derbyshire District Council's planning committee will make the final decision on 12 November.

The plans also include a car park and landscaped gardens with additional tree planting.

The applicant said the development would provide more than 40 full-time care jobs once complete.

The care home would be built on the site of a cafe

But in a statement to council planners, the practice manager said the "high proportion" of care homes in the area was having a "significant impact" on them due to "local and national GP shortages".

The statement added that due to no space being available for any extra patients, any Section 106 money paid by the developer would not help and that "recruitment and retention of carers" was an issue.

Hatton Parish Council raised no objection but said it had concerns around parking and access around the application site.

The council received five objections from nearby residents, who raised concerns around drainage, traffic, and the development overlooking into adjacent properties.

Council planners are recommending councillors approve the development subject to conditions.

In a report to councillors, they said: "The development of a 66-bed care home on a previously developed and allocated site is in accordance with policy in the Local Plan delivering a scheme that responds to social issues, providing additional choice in care provision."