Final approval given for dementia care home scheme at Pera

The scheme was held up until a Section 106 Agreement – money contributed by the developer to support local infrastructure – was agreed on Monday.

It paves the way for a 70-bed dementia care home and 22 extra care apartments to be built in the grounds of the Nottingham Road property, with associated parking and landscaping.

Access will be via the existing entrance to the business park, which is opposite the Sainsbury’s store.

A Spokesperson from Melton Borough Council said: “The council’s planning committee considered and approved this application at a meeting on December 7, 2022, a section 106 agreement was subsequently drafted and agreed, and permission has now been given for the redevelopment of the garden at Pera Business Park to include a dementia care home.”

The dementia care home will be built close to the historic Staveley Lodge on the site nearest to the adjacent livestock market.

The extra care properties will be constructed on parkland fronting Nottingham Road.

The scale of the project has been reduced since it was first mooted – when a 77-bed car home and 30 apartments were proposed.

Consultations and public feedback led to a slightly reduced development.

A survey conducted by Pera for the 2022 planning meeting concluded that there would be a major shortfall in dementia care beds in the area with the number of over 65s in the borough set to rise by 45 per cent by 2040.