Apartments plan with café recommended for approval
Councillors will decide on the scheme this week
By Cheshire Live
Plans for 12 extra care apartments and a café at The Old Rectory Nursing Home in Grappenhall have been recommended for approval despite objections over Green Belt impact, traffic and conservation concerns.
Plans for a new extra care apartment scheme at The Old Rectory Nursing Home in Grappenhall have been recommended for approval ahead of a decision by Warrington Borough Council.
The application, submitted by Orncare Ltd, proposes a new part two-storey, part single-storey building at the rear of the existing nursing home. The scheme would provide 12 ancillary extra care apartments, alongside a café intended to support residents and the wider care setting.
The proposal is due to come before Warrington Borough Council’s development management committee on Thursday, with planning officers recommending that councillors approve the scheme.
The Old Rectory Nursing Home is an established care home in Grappenhall and is registered with the Care Quality Commission. The latest CQC profile lists the service as rated “Good” overall, with “Good” ratings across safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led categories. Its registered services include accommodation for people requiring nursing or personal care, treatment of disease, disorder or injury, and care for adults over and under 65.
The proposal sits within a wider debate about how Cheshire and Warrington should respond to rising demand for older people’s housing and care. Extra care apartments are designed to give residents more independence than a traditional care home bedroom, while still allowing access to support, services and communal facilities.
Planning material linked to earlier proposals for the site stated that The Old Rectory has operated in Grappenhall since 1988 and has long provided care for people from the local area. Previous plans for additional extra care accommodation were promoted as a way to diversify the service and help safeguard the future of the nursing home.
However, the latest application has attracted objections. Reports say 27 objections have been received, with concerns including the impact on Green Belt land, traffic in the village, the scale of the development, the loss of trees, and potential harm to nearby listed buildings and the conservation area.
Objectors have also questioned whether the additional extra care apartments are needed locally and whether the proposed homes would be affordable for many Grappenhall residents.
Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council is not opposing the plans, but has asked for care to be taken to protect the cobbled lane near the site, with any damage to be repaired at the developer’s expense.
Support for the scheme has come from Warrington’s Adult Social Care Contracts and Commissioning Team, which has said there is a shortage of extra care units in the borough for current and projected needs over the next five to ten years.
That point is likely to carry weight with councillors, as local authorities face growing pressure to plan for an ageing population. Across Cheshire, demand is increasing for housing that allows older residents to remain as independent as possible while still having access to care when needed.
For supporters, the Grappenhall proposal would provide a modest number of specialist apartments linked to an existing care home, rather than a standalone housing estate. They are likely to argue that this makes the site suitable for extra care accommodation and helps meet a clear social need.
For opponents, the concern is that the benefits do not outweigh the impact on a sensitive village setting, particularly given the Green Belt location and conservation issues raised by residents.
The decision will therefore require councillors to balance care provision, local need and the future of an established nursing home against concerns about development pressure, village character and the protection of open land.
If approved, the scheme would add 12 extra care apartments to the existing Old Rectory Nursing Home site and mark another step in the expansion of specialist later-life accommodation in Warrington.