PLANNING permission is being sought to build a care home and retirement living block on a playing field in Tiverton.

Minton Care (Tiverton) Ltd, Petroc, LNT Care Developments Group Ltd and McCarthy and Stone Retirement Lifestyles Ltd have jointly applied for the project.

The care home would have 66 beds and the retirement accommodation 50 apartments. They would both be three storeys tall and have flat roofs.

They would be built on a sports field east of Bolham Road and south of Lea Road and College View.

The field, which is part of the Petroc Tiverton campus, is “surplus to requirements” and has “not been used for eight years or more” as there is “no longer a need or use of the site by Petroc, the sale of which can be recycled into improved educational facilities on the wider site”, planning documents say.

LNT Care Developments Group Ltd would run the care home. It would offer “high-quality care services providing specialist dementia and nursing care as well as offering postoperative and re-enablement and respite care”.

There would be dining and lounge areas for residents, as well as a library, cafe and garden.

The care home would create up to 60 jobs and would have staff available round the clock to meet the needs of residents requiring “more complicated care”.

McCarthy and Stone Retirement Lifestyles Ltd would provide the retirement living accommodation.

The scheme would allow “older people to remain living in the community and out of residential institutions while enjoying peace of mind and receiving the care and support which they need”.

The block would have 50 one- and two-bedroom apartments with facilities such as a resident’s communal lounge, guest accommodation, a house manager office and communal grounds.

There would be 25 parking spaces for the care home and 36 for the retirement living block for a total of 61 parking spaces across the whole development. There would also be an additional six disabled spaces close to the building entrances and the retirement living accommodation would have its own mobility scooter store.

Access to the entire site would be from College View. The main pedestrian access would also be off College View with routes to both buildings.

Residents would be able to access the development from Bolham Road. This entry point would be gated, however, and for the use of residents only for privacy and security.

In terms of landscaping, new trees and shrubs would be planted and would be selected to “create maximum year-round colour and interest and to encourage birds and insects into the environment, for the enjoyment of residents and the benefits of biodiversity”, planning documents say.

You can see the application on the Mid Devon District Council website under reference 24/01594/MFUL.

Members of the public have until Wednesday, December 4 to comment on the proposals.

The council will decide whether to grant or refuse planning permission at a later date.

To see more public notices and planning applications, visit: publicnoticeportal.uk.