Wiltshire Council has approved a reserved matters planning application for a new 74-bedroom care home in the north-west of the county.

The site is approximately 1ha of agricultural land at Patterdown, to the south of Chippenham.

The outline planning application for this proposal was approved in 2019; now, the applicant, Country Court Care, has been granted approval for the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the care home.

The building is described as a 2-storey, ‘M’ shaped care home containing 74 bedrooms, 30 car parking spaces, secure garden areas, a proposed garden and sprinkler store, and secure cycle parking areas.

According to the application, the grounds to the building will be well-landscaped and the boundaries secured with 2m high palisade railings.

The proposed design suggests floor to ceiling glazing to provide day spaces with sunlight, as well as “feature stone to add further architectural interest.”

The submitted layout also includes large amounts of planting and trees to screen plots and secure resident gardens.

The application notes that the care home will respond to the needs of the increasing older population of the area, which is “well above the national average.”

The officer report found that the details as revised following the consultation were considered suitable for planning approval.