Care facility to be replaced by detached homes

Planning permission has been granted to demolish a former care facility and replace it with 10 detached homes.

Upsall House on Guisborough Road, Nunthorpe, was rated 'inadequate' after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November 2021 and placed into special measures, before closing the following year after failing a second inspection.

Redcar and Cleveland Council has now granted permission to the previous director and manager of the care home to knock down the building.

The application said it had become unfeasible to continue to operate Upsall House without significant upgrades.

Nine five-bed "executive-style" homes and one three bed property will be built on the site of the care home, which has been owned by applicant Kathryn Stonehouse's family since the 1970s.

A council officer's report said the application would respect the character of the site and its surroundings and there would be no significant adverse impact on neighbours, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The planning permission was granted using officer delegated powers and was not considered by council members.

A design and access statement said the 10 "contemporary" new homes would be built with high quality materials and embrace sustainable elements, including air source heat pumps and an electric vehicle charging point on each plot.

It described how the Grade II listed Upsall Hall, which has been converted into residential accommodation, sat adjacent to the site and the development would need to "contribute positively to the setting of the heritage asset".

Prior to the closure of the care home, the CQC had raised concerns about the employment of several staff who had no criminal background checks and criticised the quality of the environment, which impinged on residents' dignity.

Meanwhile, medical records were not always accurate and two people had received incorrect doses of their medication.

Speaking at the time about the decision to close, Mrs Stonehouse said the 30-bed Upsall House had been struggling financially and the situation had been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the care given in the home had been "second to none" and residents and staff were "heartbroken", she said, at the very difficult decision to move people living there elsewhere.

Follow BBC Tees on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].