Ludlow care home plan could bring 90 jobs

PLANS WERE unveiled today for a new 60-bedroom care home on the outskirts of a south Shropshire town which could create up to 90 jobs.

The new home to the east of Foldgate Lane in Ludlow, next to the A49, would also include parking spaces for more than 20 cars, an enclosed courtyard and private gardens for residents to enjoy. It will include beds for people with dementia.

It has been claimed it would help meet a "countywide" need to build up to five care homes of a similar size to cater for an increasingly ageing population.

The proposal has been put forward by Cardiff-based Castleoak Care Developments. The jobs will be a mix of full and part-time jobs, with the equivalent of 60 full-time jobs being created.

Barrie Davies, of Asbri Planning Ltd, the developer's agent, said: "It will be 60 bedrooms plus the communal spaces, dining rooms, day rooms, medical facilities, kitchens and laundry.

"Part of the building will be occupied by residents who may suffer from dementia or age-related illnesses, so there will be specialist nursing staff who work in the facility.

"It will probably create nearer to 80 or 90 jobs. It's a 24-hour facility, so a lot of people will be there part time."

A planning statement by Asbri Planning Ltd states: "The estimated growth in the elderly population of 3,810 over the next 10 years will lead to a requirement for a minimum of an additional 612 care beds by 2019."

It adds that "it is estimated that an additional 269 new single en suite care bedrooms will be needed, or at least five new 60-bed care homes, by the end of the next decade."

A public consultation is being carried out and Ludlow Town Council and Ludford Parish Council have been informed. Ludlow mayor John Aitken said he anticipated the plans would be discussed by town councillors in November. Consultation runs until November 9 and it is hoped a decision will be made by Shropshire Council in January.

By Peter Kitchen and Hannah Costigan