Cornwall Council has received an application from Frontier Estates for a new 64-bed care home on land at Penny’s Lane, Par, which is currently an open field with a disused mine shaft. 

Planning permission was granted in 2018 for commercial development on the site, which has now expired.

The proposed Class C2 care home would provide high quality accommodation for the elderly, with the capability for all care needs to be met on site. If approved, it is likely to be dual-registered so that it can deliver both nursing and residential care, enabling the provision of dementia-specific care. The 64 bedrooms would be single occupancy, exceed CQC standards and would all be en-suite, something which is required for a care home to be considered as ‘market standard’.

The care home is designed to respond to differing resident needs and would likely be occupied by individuals requiring advanced care and, in many cases, end of life care. As such, each floor would benefit from lounge and dining space as well as a nurse’s office and a drugs store to ensure that residents could access the care they need. In addition, the home would benefit from communal facilities in the form of a hair and beauty salon, a cinema, café and terraces.

Internally, the proposal includes 26 bedrooms at ground floor, 28 bedrooms on the first floor and ten bedrooms at second floor level. It is anticipated that the care home would employ around 70 staff equating to 53 full-time positions.

As well as the internal environment, the proposal provides “extensive and high-quality gardens for residents”. A variety of garden spaces would be provided to the north, south and east of the building including sensory gardens, multi-activity lawn spaces, a boules court, growing area and a reflective garden.

A woodland extension is proposed in the easternmost part of the site with paths provided throughout and a bat hibernacula to provide an alternative hibernation option for bats. A new vehicle access would be provided from Par Moor Road.