Plans to turn Dorset Nursing Home into a hotel

Lyme Regis Nursing Home on Pound Road, was recently subject to a damning report, and subsequently came under fire from former staff members and families of former residents.

The home, which is still in operation, was rated as 'requires improvement' in a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report published on August 5, 2023.

Now the owners have submitted plans for a change of use of the building to turn it into a hotel.

The proposal has been submitted by Lone Wolf Planning on behalf of the owners.

According to the application, the care home no longer meets modern care standards in terms of its physical arrangement, including the width of corridors and doorways, varied floor levels and staircase and is "becoming unviable".

No physical changes to the building will be undertaken and the rooms which were previously used to house patients will become rooms for hotel guests.

The application was discussed at a planning meeting at Lyme Regis Town Council on March 19.

Committee members asked for more information on the kind of hotel envisaged.

Concerns were raised that the application for a change of use did not clarify what type of hotel was being planned.

The developers say the change of use will support the tourism industry in Lyme Regis and is "essential" for the ongoing recovery of the local and national economy.

The application has already received one objection from a neighbour.

She said: "I object to this planning application for 'change of use' from a nursing home to a hotel. this is on the grounds of the loss of an amenity to Lyme Regis , namely the nursing home.

"My understanding was that this was originally transferred from the NHS to GPs for a 'peppercorn' in order for there to be a nursing home in Lyme Regis.

"We have had three elderly relatives enjoy their final years in this nursing home and it continued to provide them with a home near where they had always lived and to be able to have family and friends visit frequently, which contributed to their quality of life.

"This would not have been possible if the nursing home had been further afield."

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigated the home after it was claimed staff reportedly laughed at a grieving family who complained about the care of their father.

It found ‘serious issues’ with the care provided to the man, who later died.

Adding further distress to the man’s family, care home owner Farringdon Care Ltd refused to refund the fees the family paid for the seven weeks he lived there -  despite the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s recommendation for it to do so.

The News has approached Lyme Regis Nursing Home for comment.

The application will next go before Dorset Council councillors.