RESIDENTS at a Salisbury care home could have more living space if the provider's plans to knock down and rebuild one of its wings is approved.

Wessex Care, which runs Milford Manor Care Home, has submitted plans to demolish its existing two-storey wing and replace it with a new three-storey extension.

This would provide 30 en-suite bedrooms for residents, spread over three floors.

Every resident would have larger bedrooms and en-suite facilities if the plans are approved, but the capacity of the care home will stay the same.

The extension would also provide a lift and wider corridors for beds and wheelchairs to be manoeuvred in.

Manor House, the original building at the centre of the care home, would still have the dining and support rooms, as it does not.

Under these plans, the Manor House will have some partition walls and a lift shaft removed to return it to its original dimensions.

This will allow the introduction of an assisted bathroom, lounge and activities room, occupational therapy room, health and beauty spa, physiotherapy room and a space for visiting GPs.

The existing two-storey building, facing onto the gardenThe existing two-storey building, facing onto the garden (Image: Elaine Milton Heritage & Planning) A relatives' room with en-suite facilities will also be provided, and the second floor will provide a manager's office, staff kitchen, staff rooms and storage.

The planning documents say: “This proposal seeks to demolish the existing sub-standard wing and to locate all care rooms within a new replacement care wing built on approximately the same footprint as the old wing albeit larger to accommodate the facilities needed to make the building ‘fit for purpose’.

“Although the extension will not increase the capacity of the care home per se, it will ultimately be larger than the extension it will replace both in footprint and bulk as the rooms will be larger, all will have en-suite facilities and all will be for single occupancy, creating improved living accommodation for residents in comparison with the existing accommodation.

“The plans show that the extension has been designed so that its eaves height is lower than the manor house.

“There is evidence of three and four-storey buildings close by and therefore the scale of development proposed is appropriate to the character of the area.”

Most of the residents' bedrooms will face onto the garden, “providing an attractive outlook from within the building”.

Wiltshire Council is accepting comments on the proposals until December 17. To see the plans in full, visit the council's planning portal and search for application PL/2024/10153.