PLANS for a former care home in Bracknell to house up to 22 workers before a long-term solution for the site is found, are forging ahead.

Heathlands Home for the Aged closed in 2015 after Bracknell Forest Council found it wasn’t sustainable or cost-effective to run and its elderly residents, some with dementia, were transferred to other homes.

A planning committee meeting in September approved plans to change the use of the care home to a house of multiple occupation for three years while concrete plans for the building’s long-term future are decided.

In September, the News reported the council had discussed using the home as a ‘halfway house’ for patients leaving hospital who weren’t yet ready to live independently.

However, the plan will take time to form and the council has decided to allow 22 ‘property guardians’ to live in the home’s rooms to keep the site secure in the coming years, despite receiving 16 objections to the plan.

A report to the planning committee recommended the application was approved and said: “While it would result in a loss of care home bed spaces, the home is currently vacant and the proposal would re use this vacant building on a temporary basis to provide additional residential accommodation within the Borough. It is therefore acceptable in principle. No external changes are proposed to the building as such it would not adversely affect the residential amenities of neighbouring properties and would not adversely impact upon the character and appearance of the surrounding area. No highway safety implications will arise subject to the imposition of conditions.”

A company called Ad Hoc has been enlisted to find the 22 people who will live in the building and keep it secure and in better condition.

The scheme was revised from 41 rooms to 22 after the Highways Authority claimed there was insufficient parking on site.

Cllr Dale Birch, executive member for adult services, health and housing, said: "In line with planning permission granted in October last year, the property is soon to be used, for the interim, as rented accommodation for professionals. This is while the long-term residential and nursing home plans for the site are developed."