The site of a demolished "eyesore" pub is set to be transformed into a specialist facility that will provide vital support to people with brain injuries.
Cheshire West and Chester Council has given the green light to an application which outlines plans to redevelop land on Whitby Road in Ellesmere Port. The site was previously home to The Knot pub, which became a hotspot for antisocial behaviour after it closed down more than a decade ago.
The derelict pub was pulled down in 2015 and now Voyage Care, which provides specialist care and support to adults with brain injuries, has been given the go-ahead to redevelop the land. The company offers support in the community and in people’s own homes, and it's expected the move will help to generate a number of specialist jobs in the local area.
READ MORE: Detectives given 36 more hours to question three men in Olivia murder probe
Voyage Care said the site will “deliver a specialist brain injury rehabilitation service through the provision of transitional residential accommodation". Brain injury rehabilitation services do not provide permanent homes for residents but instead offer stepping stones to independence.
Depending on their recovery and care requirements, residents typically remain in this type of service for two to three years. The planning application states the site will be redeveloped to provide a "service comprising the erection of a care home and supported living apartments with ground floor commercial unit, car park, external amenity space, access, landscaping and other associated works".
There will be two buildings on the derelict site, one of which will be located to the west of the site and will front onto Whitby Road. The building will comprise a commercial space at the ground floor and 12 supported living apartments on the first and second floors.
Building two will be located to the rear of the site and will comprise a care home. The building will provide 12 bedrooms and four transitional flats. It will have access to its own private amenity spaces, including a south facing garden, with direct external garden access provided from bedrooms and residential day spaces. Private garden space will also be provided to the rear of the transitional flats.
Alan Marshall, Voyage Care managing director, said: "We’re delighted to have received planning consent to develop a new brain injury rehabilitation service in the heart of Ellesmere Port.
"This development, which we hope to break ground on soon, is part of our continued growth in developing local support for people with brain injuries. Once open, the service will generate a number of specialist jobs in the community."
READ NEXT:
First picture of man accused of murdering partner
Teen, 19, killed after crashing into lamppost on M6
Man arrested on the motorway hours from Liverpool in connection with murder of Olivia
Fiancée 'can't imagine life' without 'selfless' partner killed in crash
Woman fighting for life 'fell from two storey fire escape' at nightclub
