A DECISION is due next week on the redevelopment of two former council-run care homes.

In April last year, Durham County Council voted to close its last five care homes for the elderly, including Grampian House, in Peterlee, and Cheveley House, in the Belmont area of Durham.

Next week, members of the council’s Area Planning Committee will be asked to rule on plans to redevelop both sites.

Helen McArdle Care, which already operates 17 care homes across the North-East, is seeking permission to demolish the empty 20-bed Grampian House and replace it with a 55-bed care home.

Meanwhile, developers have lodged a request to demolish the 36-bed Cheveley House building and replace it with 26 homes in a cul-de-sac accessed off Brackendale Road.

Decisions on both applications will be taken in a meeting at County Hall in Durham on Tuesday, November 10.

The proposed Cheveley House scheme, which could be developed by All Saints Living, is a mixture of two, three and four bedroom houses aimed at “professionals and growing families”.

The development would include five affordable apartments as well as detached and semi-detached houses which would be up to three storeys tall.

However, the application has attracted some opposition, with Belmont Parish Council and ten residents lodging formal objections to the scheme.

In particular, opponents highlight concerns over the potential increase in traffic, parking problems and say the proposed access is dangerously close to the junction with the busy Broomside Lane.

Despite the objections, the council’s planning officers have recommended the scheme is approved subject to a number of conditions, including asking developers for a £26,000 contribution to the provision of open space and recreation facilities in the area.

Officials are also recommending that the proposed development of Grampian House as a private residential home for the elderly be granted conditional approval.

The new development, which lies next to Peterlee Catholic Club and Howletch Lane Primary School, would be on two storeys.

It would have 25 ground-floor bedrooms, 12 of which would have direct access to a shared garden, and 30 first-floor bedrooms, each with ensuite facilities, TV, telephone and computer points.

There would also be lounges, dining rooms, a beauty salon and other support services, with staff on site 24 hours a day.

The planning application for the 0.68-acre site also includes communal garden areas, with lighting and a 16-space car park.

No objections have been lodged to the proposal.