Witney News - Council backs more homes for the elderly

Council backs more homes for the elderly

Plans to build more homes for the elderly have been given the go-ahead by West Oxfordshire District Council, subject to legal agreement.

Two planning applications, which include an extra care development and a retirement village, were approved by West Oxfordshire District Council on Monday 17 September.

The first application, made by Cottsway Housing Association & IBIS Healthcare, will provide 93 extra care apartments at Milestone Road, Carterton.

These self-contained apartments will enable older people to continue to enjoy their independence for longer with the same privacy they would have with any other kind of housing. They will have their own front door and access to 24-hour health care on-site when it is needed.

Fifty percent of the homes will be affordable and available for rent or to buy as shared ownership.

The extra care development follows on from an earlier planning application made by Cottsway Housing Association & IBIS Healthcare for a nursing home and six assisted living units. These will be built to the front of the site, with the 93 extra care apartments housed in a 3-storey building centrally and to the rear of the site.

At the same meeting Richmond Care Villages Holdings Ltd obtained planning permission for a retirement village on land at Coral Springs, Thorney Leys, Witney.

The retirement village will provide 185 homes with communal facilities including a swimming pool, wellness suite, library, kitchen, restaurant, laundry, bar and admin offices.

Cllr Warwick Robinson, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing said, “West Oxfordshire has an ageing population and with older people living longer there is an urgent need for more accommodation to cater for their needs. Extra care housing is particularly in demand as many people want the opportunity to live independently for as long as possible. These developments are greatly welcomed."