COUNCILLORS have unanimously approved plans for a new care home in Lichfield.
The scheme alongside the Lichfield Canal on Tamworth Road will see an 81-bed facility.
Objections have been raised by Lichfield City Council over the “inappropriate location” near the A38 and concerns over the amount of car parking.
But after a report to a planning committee meeting at Lichfield District Council recommended the scheme for approval, members also backed the development.
Cllr Jamie Checkland, Conservative member for Leomansley ward, said:
“I’m always very pleased to see a proposal like this come up because as people get older it’s very important they get the care that they need.
“It also frees up houses – hopefully locally – that can then go back on to the market to keep the chain moving.”
Cllr Hugh Ashton, Liberal Democrat member for Stowe ward, said he had been won over by the plans after initial scepticism.
“When I first saw this application I thought it was a horrible building.
“But then I looked at the 3D scans a little more and I was converted to the view that this is actually quite interesting in that it’s not one massive building, but three buildings so we get rid of any objections as to massing.
“In regards to height, it’s three storeys which is taller than most buildings in the area, but on the Cricket Lane residential development a lot of those properties are going to be two and a half or three storeys, so the skyline will not be broken too badly by this one in comparison.”
