New care home extension approved

Plans to extend an existing care home at Cerne Abbas near Dorchester with 40 new en-suite bedrooms have been approved.

The planning and separate listed building consent applications were approved by the Dorset Council case officer, without the requirement to go before the planning committee.  The proposal is for a two storey extension to a Grade II listed care home.  The additional bedrooms, living rooms and staff areas will provide specialist residential and nursing care.    Dementia care will also be provided in a safe and supportive environment.

The proposal was contrary to the local plan policy, being outside the settlement boundary of the village and located within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but was approved following our previous approval for a 20 bedroom Extra Care living units paved the way for this approval, required by a change in demand for social care in Dorset.

Four individual blocks of accommodation are arranged to create an internal street to echo the historical layout of the existing former workhouse building.  The street will provide a bright and stimulating social environment for residents, staff and visitors to the building.  Subservient in scale to the listed building, the new wing will be finished with a green bio-diverse roof, Purbeck stone at ground floor and natural timber cladding at first floor.