Ipswich residents object to plans for new three-storey care home

The proposed care home would be located on the site of the former Victoria Nurseries

A planning application for a new care home has received 46 objections from local residents.

First Care Homes has again applied to build a three-storey building on Kettlebaston Way in Ipswich, Suffolk.

Residents raised concerns over parking and highway safety, and the application received no letters of support.

Ipswich Borough Council refused the company's first application in March 2023, due to its "excessive scale" and inadequate car parking.

'Five extra spaces'

The application would see a 70-bedroom care home built on the land of former garden centre, Victoria Nurseries.

The building would also include ancillary rooms, kitchens and offices in the basement level.

First Care Homes appealed the council's refusal last year, and although the planning inspector concluded the proposals would not harm the surrounding area, it was dismissed on the grounds of poor parking provision.

The new application included an additional five parking spaces, with an area available for 35 cars.

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"I am saddened to see that the developer has submitted yet another application," read one objection. "The developer has submitted what is essentially the same plan. The only change is a few more parking spaces created by reducing the outdoor garden area; to the detriment of the care home residents."

Another read: "The large 70-bed, three-storey building is still out of keeping with the surrounding two-storey family homes, looming unacceptably over the properties that border the site on Westerfield Road, Brettenham Crescent and Kettlebaston Way."

The applicant said the facility would provide 65 new full-time jobs and that only 28 employees would be present on site at one time, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The proposals have been recommended for approval by council officers and will be discussed by the council's planning and development committee next Wednesday.