Cornwallis Court care home in Bury St Edmunds to be demolished and replaced with £16 million facility after plans approved

An ‘outstanding’ care home in Bury St Edmunds is set to be demolished and replaced with a new £16 million facility after plans were approved.

The 68-bedroom Cornwallis Court, in Hospital Road, would be replaced with a 64-bed facility over two storeys with parking and landscaping under proposals backed by West Suffolk Council today.

The build will start in April in a series of phases to enable residents and staff to continue living and working in the existing building, before moving across to the new home as each phase is completed. Full completion is expected by 2027.

The layout will include four house groups to create a more homely environment.

Each space will feature 16 bedrooms with en-suite wet rooms, varied communal spaces and an enclosed landscape garden.

Operator RMBI Care Co sought permission for the development as the current building was 'coming to the end of its operational life' and 'proving increasingly difficult' for the charity to provide the level of care required.

Cornwallis Court opened as a RMBI Care Co home in 1981 with the main building formed from an old cottage hospital.

A planning statement said the layout of the inside of the home, rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission in August, can lead to feelings of isolation, anxiety and confusion.

The bedrooms were of varying sizes, some of them were particularly small and none of them have the capacity to install en-suite wet rooms.

A statement from RMBI said: "The building presents some considerable challenges when dealing with the frailty of residents now living there.

"The rooms, particularly at ground floor level in the nursing wing are small and fall a long way short of the standard seen in modern day care homes.

"The size and layout of the home makes it very difficult to operate on a cost effective basis."

It said the home was being subsidised by other parts of the RMBI Care Co portfolio but this was not a long term solution.

In the plans a parking area next to the care home entrance would have 30 spaces with cycle parking and disabled bays.

A West Suffolk Council report said the site was located in an area known for mining and was immediately next to a former pit, with an indication that tunnels could extend directly beneath the site.

The environment team required an investigation of the risks of subsidence to be completed before planning was approved.

However, following a geophysical report, the council’s consultant raised no objection to the proposals subject to conditions to secure additional investigation following demolition but before construction to confirm no land stability issues.

An objection was received by a neighbouring resident with concerns about disruption during construction, impact on pedestrian and vehicle right of access from temporary parking during construction and a proposed security fence in the final phase.

A planning officer said pedestrian access would be kept in all phases, while vehicle access and parking would not be affected.

They said the fence would have no adverse impacts on neighbouring properties.

The report added that the proposals would result in a more modern facility and achieve a good quality design.

Mark Lloyd, managing director at RMBI Care Co, said: “We’re passionate about supporting older people, so we’re always thinking about how we can support our residents’ needs now, and as they change in the future.

“We plan to create and build a new care home with modern spaces that evolve with our residents alongside assistive technologies and a personal approach to our care.”

RMBI Care Co secured a sustainable retail charity bond in February to help develop, modernise and expand its support for older people.

It will also be the charity’s second investment in a new-build care home, following the completion of Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh Court, in Berkshire, in 2022.