A CARE home in Witheridge wants to provide 15 more bedrooms and is applying for planning permission from North Devon Council to extend.

South West Care Homes which runs The Firs says it is responding to a need identified by Devon County Council for additional beds in the area.

It proposes to employ 10 extra staff if permission is granted.

The Firs provides care to 27 adults aged over 65 with complex medical needs including dementia.

Hospitals in Exeter, North Devon and Tiverton currently discharge patients from the Witheridge area to the care home for rehabilitation and ongoing care.

The applicants say that 56 per cent of people in the Mid Devon area served by the home is now over 65, dementia cases are rising and there is an increasing need for specialist care places following hospital discharge.

The Firs has room to develop and good transport connections, they say.

A single storey ground floor extension is being proposed which will extend over part of the garden at the back of the building.

There are no immediate neighbours impacted by the proposal either through noise or by overlooking, they claim.

“There are no windows in the gable end near to the garden boundary. This gable faces onto a wooden fence. The existing level of amenity enjoyed by the neighbours beyond the fence is not compromised. By its very nature the proposal is not associated with any noisy or intrusive activity.”

The site is on the edge of the Witheridge Conservation Area. The Firs is a large detached building set back from the road, with parking and open space at the front. Existing extensions have been added over time.

You can see the application on North Devon Council’s website under reference 79809.

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

Alison Stephenson