Planning permission granted for empty five-bed Heywood house to become new community for disabled people

Photo: Google, DigitalGlobe

The site of the house, which will become a supported living development on Starkey Street in Heywood

Planning permission has been granted to transform an empty five-bedroom house in Heywood into a new community for disabled people and those who need care.

Plans submitted for the site at 7 Starkey Street include designs for eight bungalows and 12 apartments, which are assisted living and spread across two blocks with 20 full-time members of staff working shifts at the location.

The current property on the site has been empty since 2021, according to the planning application.

There is a total of 0.74 acres of space which is expected to be developed as part of the scheme, making use of the vacant land which sits in a residential area with care staff located on site and facilities, equipment and personnel being on demand.

The proposed new homes will have a bedroom, en-suite bathroom, living room come dining room, and a kitchen area.

They will be leased to individual residents as part of a 24-hour assisted living community with three staff members working at night, and five or six people working during the day at different times.

The 12 apartments proposed will be ‘self-contained one-bedroom apartments spread over three floors’.

On the ground floor there will be a staff hub and disabled toilet, with a car park with 16 marked out bays outside. The existing access to the site via Starkey Street for cars and people is planned to be reused.

Security gates will be installed to the site entrances and all access points are expected to be covered by CCTV.

The care provision in the bungalows is proposed to be “much more intense than in the flats” and tenants will be assigned rooms and a level of support based on their own needs.

The user of the site is expected to be Eden Futures, a company which provides care for people with disabilities and support needs.

Planning permission was granted, subject to conditions, on 20 October by Rochdale Borough Council.

Declan Carey, Local Democracy Reporting Service