75-bed care home plan at Scarborough Rugby Club site approved
A large 75-bed care home will be constructed in Scarborough despite concerns about the impact on local health services.
Yorkare Homes has been given the green light to build a 75-bed care home on the former site of Scarborough Rugby Union Football Club (RUFC) on Scalby Road.
The two-and-a-half-storey home will provide 51 residential care bedrooms and 24 dementia bedrooms, along with community rooms, staff rooms, and service rooms.
However, the plan was met with objections and concerns over its impact on local GP services and a possible oversaturation of care homes in the area.
Health and Adult Services at North Yorkshire Council cited “low demand for and an oversupply of general residential care in Scarborough”.
“Data suggests there is no demand for 50 new general residential care home beds in the area. An oversupply is likely to result in under-occupancy for the provider and therefore financial sustainability issues,” officers said.
The site was the home of Scarborough RUFC until 2009, when the club moved.
Meanwhile, Newby and Scalby Town Council objected to the plan due to the “overbearing” design of the care home.
“Although the applicant has tried to reduce the massing of the building by changing the designs of the roofs at the north-west and south-east ends of the front elevation, we continue to consider the proposed development is overbearing by virtue of height, size and massing,” the parish council said.
It added: “We are also very concerned about the ability of the existing infrastructure to cope with the development, especially the GP services which are already considerably overstretched.”
Yorkare Homes Ltd said it has been working in the care industry for more than 30 years and has built up a strong relationship with numerous councils’ social services departments.
“As the population ages, the need for high-standard care accommodation grows, and the company aims to meet some of these needs,” it said.
The plans include a 32-space car park with four electric vehicle charging points, cycle parking and dedicated ambulance access.
Two lifts and level access throughout would ensure the building and gardens are accessible for residents with mobility needs.
The application was approved, subject to conditions, on Tuesday, September 15.