Contentious plans to close a care home and turn it into accommodation for the homeless in Bromley are set to be approved.

Ashcroft Care Home in London Lane is currently too small to continue as it is, following a refused application to increase the number of rooms in 2015.

According to planning documents submitted by the home, the new homeless accommodation would be leased to the council.

Despite more than 50 objections to the proposed change of use, officers at  Bromley Council have recommended the scheme get given the go-ahead at a planning meeting on Thursday, November 29.

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Officers said in their report to councillors, who will make the decision: “The model proposed involves arrangements that are tried and tested.

“The applicant would engage a private registered social landlord to manage the property on their behalf and the council would have 100 per cent nomination rights to the properties.

“If this application is successful it would be another key project in the range of housing options that assist the council in delivering an effective response to homelessness.”

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The nursing home has proposed a three-year limit on the development.

 

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All current care home residents would be relocated to other homes.

In its application, the developer said: “Being one of the smallest homes, its long-term viability has always been in doubt and it has been recognised that if it is to survive, then it would need to achieve a capacity of at least 40 beds, based on current standards.

“Attempts to increase its capacity have been made and the most recent planning application in 2015 was turned down for a number of reasons, not least of which was local opposition to the proposal.

“Ashcroft, given its size and location, could provide a valuable resource that would address the significant demand for accommodation for homeless families within Bromley.”

The proposal would allow 16 flatlets with 29 beds for homeless people, designed to accommodate lone ppeople and families.

Neighbours have argued that “social issues” come with homeless families that will make children at the nearby primary school “uncomfortable and unsafe”, according to objections submitted.

Concerned residents say the facility would be “totally out of character with the neighbourhood” and would bring anti-social behaviour, mess and noise.

“The property could easily be sold to be converted back to private family housing in keeping with the local area,” one objector said.

There are also neighbours’ concerns over parking, waste collection, and the quality of accommodation, according to council documents.

Acceptances into temporary accommodation in Bromley have risen 135 per cent since 2012, with 1,439 households now placed in it.

Recommending the scheme, officers said: “The potential closure of the care home is regrettable and it would appear on balance that its future viability as a going concern is not possible.

“It is acknowledged that this may change in the future. However, in the interim it would be beneficial to seek alternative temporary uses that would also address the needs of the community in terms of a specialist housing provision.”

A decision will be made tomorrow, Thursday November 29.