Planning Submitted for New Purpose-Built Care Home at Hendra Court

Plans have been submitted for a purpose-built 76-bed care home near St Austell to provide essential care home provision.

The outline planning application is for a new care home on the grounds of an existing care home, Hendra Court in Par. According to the Local Neighbourhood Plan, the parish of Tywardreath and Par has an ageing demographic with one in four residents living with a limiting, long-term illness. The new care home will increase the provision of high-quality residential care facilities in the area and help meet demand.

Stuart says Cornwall Council favours building new care homes and creating dementia-friendly environments over a reliance on changes to existing care home buildings to improve living standards.

Stuart adds: “New care homes enable the provision of technology enabled care and this in turn promotes independence.”

Hendra Court currently provides both residential and nursing care for 50 residents, many of whom are living with dementia. The existing accommodation includes an historic house and a series of single-storey extensions to the rear, which were built to meet an increased demand for care beds over the years.

Stuart explains: “Many of the buildings are becoming increasingly difficult to adapt to meet improved care home standards.”

The proposed development will involve the demolition of 18 existing care bedrooms and the construction of a brand-new replacement care home, supporting residents with dementia and nursing needs.

The accommodation is organised around a shared communal courtyard, which sits at the heart of the scheme, with views out towards the historic house and wooded landscape beyond. Access to secure outdoor space will help to improve the health and wellbeing of residents by promoting physical activity and improved mental health.

PBWC Project Architect and later living and care specialist, Josie Dorling, explains the dementia-friendly design. “The building is arranged into three wings of sleeping accommodation centred around a communal wing where residents share more domestic-scale living spaces and activity rooms, which are designed to foster social interaction.”

She continued: “Bedroom doors have been recessed off the corridors to provide clearly defined spaces, which can be used to create colour contrast and display resident’s personal items, helping them to differentiate one bedroom from another and aid with way-finding."

The development will be completed in phases to allow existing residents to be transferred across from the existing care home into the new building once it’s complete. Cornwallis Care Services hope to redevelop the historic house and remaining extensions into close care accommodation in the future.

The building will meet BREEAM 'Excellent' energy performance requirements and incorporate roof-mounted solar PV panels and air source heat pumps.