Plans have been submitted to build a retirement ‘village’ on land previously used as Truro City FC’s football ground.
Frontier Estates Ltd has applied to Cornwall Council to construct a 66-bed care home and 50 retirement apartments, with a total of 134 beds, next to the Lidl store on Treyew Road.
The site currently accommodates a private car park and some small buildings that remain following the relocation of Truro City to a new ground, which is being built at Langarth on the outskirts of the city.
The proposed care home is intended to be operated by LNT Care Developments. LNT deliver specialist high-quality care facilities for providers across the country, and are on target to build 140 care homes between 2021 and 2026. This equates to around one in three newly built care homes in the UK.
The proposed retirement apartments are intended to be operated by McCarthy Stone, which provides high quality homes and services “to make later life a happy, healthy, and rewarding experience”.
A design statement prepared by Harris Irwin Architects on behalf of the applicant says the proposal will bring a series of benefits to the wider community and future residents, including the need for more care beds in the Truro area.
It will also help free up larger family homes as residents move into accommodation purpose-made to meet a range of care needs.
It adds that local employment will be created through the construction and operation phases of development, and the new buildings will meet a high standard for sustainability, ensuring more people are living in energy-efficient homes.
The proposed retirement apartments will be located in the southern part of the site, reached via the existing southern access from Treyew Road. The flats will be in a three-storey L-shaped building with 38 car parking spaces to the east and communal gardens to the west.
There would be 32 one-bed and 18 two-bed specialist apartments, all designed to meet the needs of the local ageing population. Associated landscaping and planting are proposed, including a communal garden for both residents and guests to enjoy.
The proposed care home would be located in the northern part of the site, reached off Treyew Road via the existing access for the Lidl store. It will also be contained in a three-storey L-shaped building, with 25 car parking spaces to the north and residential gardens to the south, west and east.
It will provide residential care for elderly residents with advanced needs including dementia, and will be designed to exceed current Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards, delivering a high standard of accommodation.
The building is designed to provide for differing needs with communal amenity facilities including hair salon, library, communal dining area on each floor, quiet lounge, bar, garden room, café/tearoom, cinema room and family room.
All garden areas would be fully landscaped, including a secure garden area which residents have access to as outdoor amenity space as well as green areas within the car park. Landscaping includes grassed areas, raised planter boxes to allow resident interaction, wildflower meadows, tree planting and decorative flower beds. There would also be spacing for outdoor seating, offering choices for more private areas and gatherings.
Residents would benefit from a tailored care package, determined according to their individual needs. A wide range of care services would be provided by on-site staff 24 hours a day and by visiting medical professionals from local doctors’ surgeries. Assistance with hospital trips will also be provided.
The site has a long planning history, but the most recent application was approved in January 2018 for retail and associated uses on this and the neighbouring Lidl site. While this scheme has started via the construction of the Lidl store, which is now open, the remainder of the approved retail scheme has not progressed.
As such, Frontier Estates have been in discussions with landowners on the alternative use of the site to deliver the care home and retirement apartments and have more recently progressed discussions with the operators to ensure certainty over delivery.
Pre-application discussions took place with Cornwall Council between July and October 2023. A positive response was received with officers agreeing that the principle of the proposed development is acceptable as the land is a brownfield site within the built-up area of Truro.
It was acknowledged that the proposed development would meet a specific need for care and retirement living within the local area, seeking to meet wider housing need within a sustainable location.
For more details see planning application PA24/03640 on Cornwall Council’s planning portal.