New 74-bed care home to be built in Newport after developers win appeal

Bromsgrove-based Barcroft Estates applied in October last year for planning permission to build the new facility next to the Premier Inn hotel and The Three Fishes pub off the A41 Newport Bypass.

The application stated the home would provide specialist care for the elderly, to meet the "continued demand" for the accommodation of "vulnerable older people requiring nursing and dementia care".

Despite attracting the support of Newport Town Council, the application was rejected by Telford & Wrekin Council planning officers, who called the development an "undesirable encroachment" onto rural land, and raised concerns about the impact of the road's noise on future occupants.

The council stated that the need the borough had for elderly care would not outweigh the harm caused by development.

Unhappy with the decision, the applicants launched an appeal with the government planning inspector over the summer, arguing that there was "a clear and demonstrable need" for the facility.

Their application argued that two care homes within the immediate facility had closed over the last decade, and that the need for care facilities for the elderly was only going to increase due to the area's ageing population.

Pointing to the cluster of developments on the Mere Park site - which includes a garden centre, hotel and restaurant - the company also argued that the site "does not exhibit the characteristics of being in the open countryside", and should instead be considered an "edge-of-settlement or fringe location". 

Now, Inspector Martin Allen from the Planning Inspectorate has sided with the developers and allowed the appeal. 

Determining the application, Inspector Allen said the facility would be "in close proximity" to community facilities, shops and public transport connections and would not be "isolated in nature". 

The inspector also noted the care home would employ around 75 people, and help fulfil a future need for extra care facilities. 

As part of the scheme, the developer has agreed to pay more than £28,000 towards highway improvements, and more than £55,000 towards the support of primary care infrastructure which would be impacted as a result of the development. 

The full planning application and report are available to view online on Telford & Wrekin Council's planning portal using reference number TWC/2024/0770.