PLANS to convert Tudor Grange House into a care home for the elderly look set to be approved by Solihull council.
The 108-room care facility has been proposed for the grade II listed Tudor Grange House on Blossomfield Road.
It includes 44 assisted living units, communal care facilities and all associated works such as a sensory and kitchen garden, hard and soft landscaping, car parking, access and drainage.
Solihull council’s planning committee was due to meet on Wednesday to decide on proposals, as we went to press.
The developers, Octopus healthcare, submitted the application in January after discussions with the local planning authority and Historic England that resulted in broad support for the principle of development and design detail.
The building was formerly used by Solihull College and will offer the borough’s more ‘affluent’ residents new care options at a time of cuts to adult social care budgets.
Despite recommending approval, the council’s planning report asks whether the benefits of building the home will outweigh the negatives “at a time where there is no identified housing supply figure and a drive at national level to ‘boost significantly’ the supply of housing.”
The council’s adult social care department said: “In summary the proposed development has been well tailored to the local demographic and may well make a valuable contribution to the range of housing options available to the more affluent older residents of Solihull.
“Potentially this could release family homes as older people opt to downsize to the assisted living apartments.
“However, there remains the risk that others will move into Solihull, creating additional strain on local health services and demands on a limited workforce.”
A separate planning application has to go through council with regards to the building’s heritage and listed building consent.
The planning report states: “While many of the works proposed would indeed preserve and even enhance the designated heritage asset, there are certain aspects of the scheme that would cause less than substantial harm to this designated heritage asset.”
But the report concludes: “The less than substantial harm identified would be offset and justified by the benefits that the overall scheme would bring for the viability and vitality of the wider area.”
Tudor Grange House was built in 1887 and was the family home of Sir Alfred Bird of Birds Custard fame.
The Red Cross bought it in 1945 to use as a hospital for the soldiers from the war.
In 1946 it was bought by Warwickshire County Council and became a school for children with special needs until 1976 when it became part of the then Solihull Technical College.
The red brick house has wood panelling, ornamental ceilings and tapestry works, which led to its listing in 2008.
It was put on the market by the College in 2016 because it was not being ‘fully utilised by the College and has become too costly to maintain’.
