64-bed care home 'is a real need'

THE proposed site of the new care home

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PLANS for a new 64-bed care home for elderly residents have been submitted to Oldham Council.

Care provider RochCare hopes to build Oakbank Care Home at a vacant site in Chadderton, formerly occupied by Oakbank Training Centre until its demolition last year.

The three-storey development would comprise 32 units for dementia care and 32 units for elderly residents who require support as well as additional space for parking.

Objections about the size of the centre, parking and light restrictions have been lodged by residents living near to the 0.5hectare site in Chadderton Park Road.

RochCare director Athar Mahmood said: "We are a local operator and already have a home in Oldham.

"There is a real need for high quality care in the area and we want to bring this brownfield site into use.

"This is an opportunity to provide the latest facilities to homes in Chadderton. It is designed specifically for the needs of the elderly, including wider corridors, and would hopefully meet the needs of visitors with the inclusion of a cafe. The aim is to increase the level of care for the elderly so they do not feel isolated."

M.E. Architects have issued designs showing an office and reception area to the left of the entrance lobby and a quiet room, bathing area and second office to the right, on the ground floor.

Other rooms on the ground floor include a lounge, cafe, dining area and laundry room, with an outdoor terraced area and greenhouse also featuring.

Additional lounge and dining space as well as toilet facilities and rooms for occupants are the main focus of the first and second floors in the building.

But a public consultation attended by around 25 residents in April revealed concerns about the 'overbearing' size of the building and the loss of privacy.

Richard and Claire Purdey of Packwood Chase said: "A three-storey building would have a huge and direct impact on our home.

"Our privacy will be significantly compromised.

"The overall height of the proposed building would be out of scale with the surrounding one- and two-storey residential and commercial properties and would be overbearing."

Louise and Jeremy Sleith of Middleton Road said: "What was formally a single-storey building will become a three-storey building in places which will both block out light and potentially leave our rear garden overlooked.

"Such a large development with 24-hour staffing in three shifts will undoubtedly cause congestion in what is already a busy route with limited parking for residents.

"We don't believe the proposed amount of parking spaces will be adequate for staff."

Access to the centre would be from Chadderton Park Road, which is 60m from the junction with Middleton Road, and a secondary access point at Oakhill Road.

The development includes 19 car parking spaces including two blue-badge holders, four motorbike bays and a sheltered space for 10 bikes.

Another resident said: "The biggest problem will be the parking.

"There doesn't seem to be enough parking within the site for visitors and staff."

Leaflets were delivered to houses in the vicinity and posters placed at the site entrance to encourage community involvement and response to the plans.

Mr Mahmood said: "We held a public consultation and are looking at addressing those issues.

"In principle residents were happy with the idea but there were some worries about the size and parking issues.

"Our architect is looking at finding a compromise."

It was proposed that the architects would investigate accommodating a third-floor within a dormer loft-style configuration to reduce the impact of the proposal and investigation options for increasing the parking provision.