Jubilee Gardens care home plan sparks local centre concern

Plans for a 66-bed care home on land designated for a local centre in west Warminster have raised concerns about the loss of planned community facilities.

An application for a three-storey care home at Jubilee Gardens has been submitted to Wiltshire Council. Wiltshire Councillor Russell Hawker has raised concerns over the proposals, saying the masterplan for the site included facilities for community use.

The land, near Saturn Close, forms part of the West Warminster Urban Extension, a wider development of 1,500 homes being built in phases.

Cllr Hawker said residents had been expecting a community building and shops, with the possibility of a surgery, as part of the development.

He said, “The key point to note is that the developer has not referred to the site as the ‘Local Centre’. They’ve simply described the location using names of adjacent roads – this is to avoid the point that the site is a designated Local Centre where residents expect a variety of facilities, not least some shops, maybe a surgery and definitely a community centre!”

Cllr Hawker said Wiltshire Council had obtained legal advice confirming it had a strong planning case for requiring community provision.

He intends to ask for the application to be considered by a planning committee if officers were minded to recommend approval.

The application from LNT Care Developments seeks approval for the detailed design and layout of the care home on land north of Victoria Road and east of Hubble Road. Access would be from Saturn Close.

If approved, the home would be operated by Crystal Care Collection and offer residential care, specialist dementia support and short-term respite care.

The developers say it is expected to create between 50 and 60 permanent jobs once fully operational. Its environmental features would include solar panels, battery storage and a ground-source heat pump.

Pictured: A visualisation of the proposed care home