Huge care home and housing plans in Bracknell to be decided

Developers want to build a 68-bed care home and 50 homes on land off Cain Road in Binfield.

Residents of the new care home would benefit from a shared lounge and dining area, a café, hair & beauty services, a laundry service, a communal garden, a library, and even a cinema.

They would also be assisted by onsite nurses, a care home manager, and an onsite medical store.

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The proposed care home is three storeys tall and would be accessed off Turnpike Road.

Developer Danescroft has also applied to build 50 new homes, that would be a mix of two apartment buildings and a detached house, with the remaining homes being divided into semi-detached or terraced houses.

Of the 50 new homes, 33 would be three-bedroom, 12 would be two-bedroom, and five would be one-bedroom.

All in all, the plan involves constructing 17 new buildings, with a total of 105 parking spaces provided across the development – 10 of those would be reserved for visitors.

The proposed layout of the Cain Road development in Binfield. Credit: Omega Architects

The development site has been closed off with hoardings since last year.

The plan has received objections from Binfield Parish Council and eight neighbours.

The Parish Council has recommended refusal, as they have judged the proposal to be an overdevelopment of the site, the parking provided as ‘inadequate’ and that the plan would be harmful to biodiversity.

It also raised concerns that the site is too small for a play area, and has asked for pedestrian access to be provided to the nearby Farley Wood play area.

However, Bracknell Forest Council planning officer Simon Roskilly replied that, although no direct walking route could be provided to the Farley Wood area, there is a footpath to the east of the development area which could be used to get to the Farley Wood area.

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Neighbours objections related to insufficient parking that could lead to drivers parking in neighbouring roads, and the impact the development would have on infrastructure.

One neighbour argued that a smaller, 30 bed care home would be more appropriate, but this suggestion was refuted by planning officer Roskilly, who argued that “a 30 bed care home is unlikely to be viable” and wrote that there is a “genuine need for care home accommodation within the Borough”, which the plan would help to meet.

The design of the proposed care home in Binfield. Credit: Omega Architects

The plan has been recommended for approval by officer Roskilly, who has argued that the plan has been deemed acceptable by the council’s various departments, including the highways and environmental department.

The fate of the proposed care home and 50 new homes will be decided at a virtual advisory meeting of the council’s planning committee on Thursday, October 14.