A CARE home has been given the green light to build two extensions so it can provide an extra 15 bedrooms.

The proposed development at Sable Cottage nursing and residential home in Kelsall was approved by Cheshire West and Chester Council yesterday.

The two extensions on either side of the privately-run care home on Chester Road will provide 15 additional bedrooms with en-suite accommodation), create a larger existing bedroom, and increase communal space.

It means the facility will increase its provision from 40 bedrooms to a total of 55.

The Parish Council had expressed concern over whether the development would offer adequate parking and potentially lead to on street parking.

As a result, the care home amended the plans to improve the layout of the parking spaces, meaning the Parish Council no longer objected to the planning application.

Chester and District Standard:

The plans for two side extensions at Sable Cottage, Kelsall.

Letters detailing the proposal were sent out to ten neighbouring properties and one objection to the plans was received.

Concerns were raised that there would no longer be sufficient parking for larger vehicles, loss of parking created by the development adding to the 'existing problem of parking on double yellow lines at the Hollands Lane/Chester Road Junction', and the extensions doing 'nothing to improve the appearance and ambiance of the village'.

However, in recommending the application for approval, council case officer Jo Redmond concludes in her planning report: "It is considered that the proposed development is in-keeping with the character and appearance of the original building and the wider village context, and would not cause harm to neighbouring amenity, highway safety or biodiversity."