Permission has recently been refused for the change of use of a private care home to a dwelling as it would result in the loss of a community facility. The building was first constructed as a dwelling and was converted in the mid-1980s to a care home. It sits within a residential frontage, in a typical surban area. The question is, does a privately owned care home constitute a community facility? As it is privately owned, the owners can be selective over the clients/residents. It is restricted to those who can afford it and who are vetted by staff to ensure they are compatible with existing clients/residents. In my view, the term community facility implies a community asset that’s available to all, or at least most, residents. When the cost of using the premises and restricting its access makes it unavailable to a large portion of the population can it still be described as a community facility serving the needs of a community?
