Former YMCA building could be turned into ‘care village’
The care village would employ 75 full-time and 25 part-time staff
Plans have been revealed for a care village with up to 160 beds at Grimsby’s former YMCA building, which could create more than 100 jobs.
The charity was based in Peaks Lane from 1973 until 2021, before moving to its current location in the town in Freeman Street. The move to the £8m new hostel was prompted because the Peaks Lane site was deemed no longer “fit for purpose”.
When in use, the Peaks Lane site had 72 beds, a sports hall, and shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. It has been unused since the move.
But that could all change after a planning application was made this month for outline permission to create a care village. This will include an up to an 80-bed residential care home, along with intermediate and independent living accommodation for the elderly.
The care village would employ 75 full-time and 25 part-time staff, but there is the expectation of further local job opportunities as a result of the development.
If approved, part of the existing building will be demolished to improve the layout of the 1.7 hectare site. This includes the removal of the former sports hall.
The former YMCA bedrooms will be converted into serviced, short-term lets or accommodation for contract workers, staff, relatives and other visitors. There will then be also a series of new one to three-storey buildings.
The residential care home would be between 60-80 beds in size over three storeys. Separately, there will be the independent living, “ideally 55m² bungalows or serviced apartments”, as well as the intermediate care accommodation. The initial numbers for these are ten independent living units, 30 independent care beds and up to 40 serviced apartments.
“A new care village provides a variety of accommodation, offering independence and a choice for older people, in a sustainable, accessible location, with links to public transport and local services,” said Keystone Architecture Limited in the planning statement. It also put forward the view that the care village “would see a positive redevelopment of a brownfield site”.
A Durham-based limited liability partnership, DBS7 LLP, are the applicants.
Detailed proposals will follow outline permission and the application stresses the importance of community involvement at that stage “to ensure the detailed proposals are suitable for the location, and in line with those affected”. The application already hints at interest in the running of the care village.
It is stated that there has been “early investment / development interest” from a family run care home provider with nursing and residential homes already in North Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.