The Central Area Planning Committee will be asked to consider a planning application for the demolition and rebuilding of a care home in Heybridge. The meeting will also receive the minutes of the last meeting of the committee, held on 23 October 2024.

24/00613/FULM - Brewster House, Oak Road, Heybridge

The committee has been asked to make a decision on an application for the demolition and rebuilding of a care home in Heybridge. The application site currently contains a 74 bedroom care facility known as Brewster House. The applicant, Runwood Homes, proposes to demolish the existing building, and replace it with a new 74 bed care home on the same site. The new building would provide en-suite rooms, day rooms, and other facilities including a hairdressers and a cinema room. The application is a major application, and so is being considered by the committee, rather than by officers under delegated powers. The application is referred to the committee for decision because it is a major application. The officer’s report recommends that the application should be approved, subject to conditions. The report sets out the details of the application, and explains the reasoning behind the officer’s recommendation. In particular, the report states that the development would be acceptable in terms of its impact on the character of the area, the amenities of future occupiers, and the amenities of neighbouring residents. The report notes that:

The proposal would deliver 74no. en-suite bedrooms fully compliant with the National Care Standards Act 2000, with well laid out and generous internal communal and recreational spaces.

The report also states that the development would not have an unacceptable impact on highway safety. Several conditions are proposed to be attached to the permission, covering a wide range of matters, including:

• Landscaping
• Flood risk and drainage
• Ecology
• Tree protection
• Noise
• Cycle parking
• Electric vehicle charging
• Construction management

Minutes of the last meeting (23 October)

The minutes of the last meeting of the committee, which was held on 23 October 2024, are included in the reports pack. The minutes record that the previous meeting considered one application for planning permission. The application, for the conversion of communal space to create a new bedsit at Stephens House, Everest Way, Heybridge, was approved.