PLANS for a ‘much-needed care facility’ on the site of a former office building in Andover have been unveiled.

McCarthy Stone on behalf of Care UK has lodged an application with Test Valley Borough Council to redevelop Guilbert House, in Greenwich Way, which was auctioned in March with a guide price of £3m.

The site comprises a vacant three-storey former office building, dating from the 1990s, within a landscaped parking area, at the junction of Newbury Road and Greenwich Way. 

Earlier this year McCarthy Stone held a consultation to inform people, including residents, local councillors and interest groups, of the emerging proposal and to offer them the opportunity to provide feedback.

Under the plans, a 62-unit retirement development would occupy the site, alongside an 80-bed care home.

The application states: “This joint application will see both sides of the vacant site developed as two independent builds, but under the same application to facilitate a more joined up and cohesive approach to the development.”

The proposal would provide specialist, dementia care, residential care and respite care, with the facilities such as a hairdressers, café and cinema available. A car park with 64 spaces will also be provided.

Additional facilities include assisted bathrooms, lounges, dining rooms and flexible day rooms on all floors. A staff lounge and changing facilities are also incorporated.

“It is proposed that the site be divided into two parcels with a four-storey L-shaped building containing 62 Retirement Living Plus apartments for McCarthy Stone occupying the eastern parcel and a residential care home for Care UK with 80 en-suite units on the western parcel,” the application added.

In April 2019, an application to deliver 66 residential apartments on the site was granted approval by the borough council. However, following the planning approval, no steps have been taken to implement the planning consent.

McCarthy Stone previously said that there is a strong local need for specialist retirement living accommodation in Andover.

The firm cited the borough council’s Strategic Housing Strategy 2020 – 2025 document, which identifies that “with a growing proportion of older people within the borough’s population, it is vital that we understand the housing aspirations and housing needs of older persons, and plan to meet them".

It notes a priority as being to “ensure new affordable housing for older people adequately meets future needs, in locations close to local amenities, and of a design and type that is attractive to older people".

To view the application, go to view-applications.testvalley.gov.uk/online-applications and search 22/03152/FULLN.