Harrogate care home set to be demolished and replaced with 52 retirement apartments

The care home at Greenfield Court, Wetherby Road, will be bulldozed and replaced with 52 retirement apartments and a guest suite, creating 17 jobs.

The application was approved by planners at Harrogate Borough Council today, Tuesday, despite concerns that the 33 parking spaces included in the proposals will not be enough.

Coun Pat Marsh, the council's Lib Dem leader, said the plans will create parking problems on Wetherby Road which she described as "already a nightmare."

"At some point I can imagine this having some kind of impact around there with staff who want to park on the streets", she said.

"Although it is an extra care facility that means there will be staff - and quite a few members of staff - who will require not just a couple of tandem spaces.

"I just don't think it has been addressed in this situation."

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Highways officers at North Yorkshire County Council did not raise any objections to the parking arrangements.

The applicants, McCarthy & Stone, says it specialises in the care of over 80-year-olds, which it described as "currently limited" in Harrogate.

It predicts by the end of year the district’s population of pensioners will rise by around 6,000.

Planning documents from the care company said: "The population of Harrogate district is expected to increase to 170,300 by 2030 which will only place more pressure on the district’s housing supply.

"The proposed redevelopment of the site for housing for older people is a significant opportunity to contribute towards meeting the current and projected need for special needs housing for the elderly within Harrogate, North Yorkshire and in the UK generally."

The jobs created will include cleaners, waitresses, chefs, night staff and managerial roles.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter