Care home for mentally disabled approved

District council backs plan for mental health rehab care home at Monks Lane site

A REHABILITATIVE care facility for people with severe mental disabilities to be built in Newbury has been given the green light by West Berkshire Council.

Priory Healthcare's proposals for a £3.5 million 24-hour secure care home in Monks Lane, Newbury were unanimously approved by members of the West Berkshire Council western area planning committee last night (Wednesday).

The need for the provision to provide permanent respite for local patients was a strong factor in the decision.

The council was obliged to put the matter to the planning committee after receiving over 10 letters of objection, mainly from local residents angry at the loss of a greenfield site and the increased strain on the road network, however no objectors were present.

Representatives from Priory Healthcare, who are behind the development, and Montpellier estates, outlined their case and took questions from committee members on aspects such as the visual impact of the development, parking provision and the effect on traffic, and the nature of the patients to be housed.

Assurances were sought from committee members that the patients housed would not represent a threat to the community.

Peter Frampton, speaking on behalf of Priory Healthcare, stressed that the facility was not a secure unit for dangerous persons, but a care home for those in need of rehabilitation and gentle re-introduction to society.

Proposing the approval, committee member George Chandler (Con, Downlands) said: “I don't think it is an unreasonable proposal. It looks to be an ideal site, and it is a faculty we need.”

A vote was taken and the members unanimously approved the plans.

The plans will next go before West Berkshire Council's district planning committee as the application lies outside a settlement boundary and contravenes rules on greenfield development, however it is anticipated the application will meet little resistance such is the force of goodwill around the project.

Speaking after the meeting, James McGarry, from Montpellier estates, said the approval represented good news for everyone.

“It is good to see that the committee members had a real understanding of the need for a new facility that will look after people from the local area.”