Care home plan for Anglesey Lodge at Gosport given go-ahead

Gosport Borough Council has approved an application to create a 42-bed care home by restoring and extending Anglesey Lodge in Anglesey Road, Alverstoke.

Heathfield Care Homes has received consent to transform the 1.5-acre site in a move that will create 80 jobs.

A council report said: "The Lodge has been unused for many years and was heavily damaged by fire in November 2020.

"Unfortunately the condition of the building has continued to deteriorate, exacerbated by its exposed location on the coast and vandalism.

"Recent survey works and visits by planning and conservation officers revealed that the structural condition of the building is extremely poor and there is a risk that without intervention, the entire building could be lost."

The Grade II-listed Anglesey Lodge in Gosport was badly damaged by fire in November 2020 (Image: Clive Emson Auctioneers)

The report said the landscaped grounds had not been maintained for many years and were very overgrown.

It added: "Listed Building Consent is sought for the demolition of the most badly damaged sections of the Lodge and its later additions. This would allow for the retention, restoration and conversion of the original eastern section of the Lodge, and its extension to the west and south to form a care home."

The scheme has been revised following objections submitted by Historic England, The Georgian Society, The Gosport Society, and the council's conservation officer.

"While the proposed development will result in a degree of harm to the remaining asset and its setting, there are considered to be a number of public benefits with the proposal.

"The principal benefit will be the retention and full restoration of the eastern section of the Lodge, bringing it back to its original form that will benefit the wider street scene and the conservation area.

"There will also be benefits in establishing a long term viable use for the site which would also ensure the management of the remaining asset and the not insignificant area of grounds that contains a number of protected trees and habitats.

"The use of the site as a care home would also contribute towards the council's identified need for specialist forms of residential accommodation and create a number of jobs."

Anglesey Lodge in the late 20th century (Image: Plum Architects)

Much of the former children's home was reduced to a charred ruin when the blaze broke out on the evening on November 6 2020.

About 40 firefighters from across the region spent six hours fighting the flames.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the plan to turn the building into a care home will create 20 full-time jobs and 60 part-time posts.