A PLANNING application for the demolition of a disused care home in Bournemouth and its replacement with dozens of affordable flats has been submitted.

BCP Council has formally lodged its proposals for Templeman House in Leedam Road having held a public consultation on the scheme earlier this year.

It said the building was “not fit for purpose” for continued use as a care home and instead has applied for permission to replace it with 27 affordable flats.

Until 2018 the facility was leased out by the council for use as a care home but the agreement was ended early following concerns it fell short of modern requirements.

A statement submitted with the planning application said it had become “no longer economically viable” as a result of its standard.

In January a consultation was run outlining the intention for its demolition and replacement with a block of flats.

These proposals have formally been submitted although plans for a footpath and cycleway linking to Hillview Road have been scrapped following “overwhelming” opposition from people living nearby.

Concerns were raised earlier this month about the decision to demolish the care home but councillors were told the building did not meet modern requirements for such a facility.

Speaking at a meeting of the council’s health scrutiny committee, Sally Sandcraft, Dorset CCG primary and community care director, said: “There are really high standards in buildings that we would need to commission services from for the NHS.

“Our standards are no less than local authorities’, particularly when you look at infection control requirements, and we wouldn’t be able to commission a facility of the state it is in currently.”

As a result, plans to demolish the care home and replace it with 27 one- and two-bed flats in a four-storey block have been largely unaltered from the initial concept.

It said the building would be built to meet Passivhaus standards for sustainability.

The removal of the footpath also means an extra two parking spaces are proposed, taking the total to 27.

“The demolition of the Templeman House care home and development of 27 new affordable flats will make use of a site which has been vacant since the decommissioning of the care home,” a statement submitted with the application says.

“The proposed flats will become home to local single people, couples and/or small families.”

The application will be considered in the coming months.