Preston nursing home site set to be demolished - here's what could replace it

Grimsargh House in Preston Road, Grimsargh, was closed down in March 2017 after watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) deemed it posed a 'serious risk to a person's life, health or well-being.' Around 15 residents were affected, and all staff lost their jobs.

In June the site was put up for sale, with agents inviting offers over £1.5m, saying it had “potential for redevelopment subject to planning.” Now Longridge-based J & J Holden Homes Limited have applied to Preston Council for permission to demolish the original building, and replace it with a new residential property, as well as build a small development of four houses on the tennis courts and gardens.

They say that the existing buildings have been vandalised and stripped of copper and lead pipework, and are now “beyond economic repair, and unsafe to enter.”

This “horrible” Lancashire nursing home has been closed down - here’s why

Self-build plans

The developer’s proposal is to change use of the land with one self-build dwelling on the site of the former nursing home. They say it would be similar in scale to properties on similar sites in the immediate vicinity, “yet being substantially smaller than the existing property currently occupying the site.” They add: “The design of the elevations of the proposed property reflects the historical appearance of the existing property and its situation.”

Access to the site would remain the same, and a number of trees and natural hedgerows would be preserved. Four houses

The four smaller houses - arranged in an “informal courtyard” would be to the south west of the site, where gardens and tennis courts exist. Access to the site would be by way of an existing entrance and driveway off Preston Road which the developer states “will generate less traffic than its recent historical use”.

A decision will be made in coming weeks by planning chiefs at Preston City Council.

Why did the home close?

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) made the urgent application for closure following several inadequate inspections in the previous year. The home was placed into special measures in April 2016 and was deemed inadequate.

Speaking at the time, a CQC spokesman said: “This action was taken following an order made by Manchester Magistrates Court, after an urgent application by the CQC to cancel their registration. These orders are made when the Court agrees that there is a serious risk to a person’s life, health or well-being.”