A FIFTH care home proposed for the Cumnor area will have its plans on show to the public today, having cleared its first planning hurdle.
London developer Frontier has bought 1.2 acres of land next to Timbet business park in Cumnor Hill to build a 70-bed home.
Last week planning authority Vale of White Horse District Council told the firm it would not need to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment before submitting a full planning application, making the process quicker and easier.
The company is planning to hold an exhibition of its plans at Cumnor United Reformed Church today from 4-7pm.
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Cumnor parish is already home to the 55-bed Oaken Holt care home in Eynsham Road, 25-bed Oxenford House in The Glebe, and the seven-bed Shrublands in Faringdon Road. A 72-bed luxury care home is also under construction in Cumnor Hill.
Frontier director Mike Mansell said Cumnor was a “lovely part of Oxford”, which was “undersupplied with accommodation for the elderly”.
He said his firm had used research by social care surveyors Carterwood, which showed there was a demand for more care home places in the area.
He said: “We are confident enough that there is demand.”
Mr Mansell said the home his firm was planning would be a “high-end, luxury” development.
He also said preliminary research of local opinion showed care homes in general were “well-supported” by residents.
The home, he said, would be run by a private care firm, but the contract had not yet been awarded.
When Berkley Care Group applied for permission for its 72- bed home in Cumnor Hill, some 40 residents objected, many claiming it would create traffic problems in the area.
But Vale councillor for Cumnor Dudley Hoddinott said he was happy in principle about the Frontier proposal, pointing out that it was designated for business use in the Vale’s most recent Local Plan for development.
He said: “There is a great danger from very big developments of a lot more traffic, but I wouldn’t expect a huge amount of traffic from this.”
Frontier said that after getting feedback from its exhibition it would hope to submit a planning application next month.
Details of the scheme can be seen at whitehorsedc.gov.uk, reference P15/V0429/SCR.
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