Town council objects to altered care home proposals

Plans to demolish the Limes Guest House and replace it with a high-dependency care home were originally submitted in March by Ascot Design. Town councillors at the time voiced concerns that an operator had not yet been appointed and that the plans could subsequently change. However, West Berkshire Council gave the plans the green light earlier in the year.
Following the recent appointment of operator Gracewell Healthcare, permission is now being sought to have a condition requiring the 64-bed care home to meet BREEAM standards to an ‘excellent’ level varied to instead meet a ‘very good’ level, on the grounds that the former would be difficult to achieve.
BREEAM assessments rate how sustainable and environmentally-friendly a building is.
The operators have also applied to make some structural changes to the plans, which have already been revised once.
Councillors voted unanimously against the application.
A decision is expected from West Berkshire Council in January.