A former care home in Hove could be knocked down so the council can build a four-storey block of flats to provide supported housing.
The £9 million plans to demolish Knoll House, in Ingram Crescent West, Hove, are due to go before Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee next week.
The care home closed in 2019. The council wants to build 28 accessible flats in its place for “people with acquired brain injuries and physical disabilities with special needs” with “varying levels of care requirements”.
All of the flats could house people who need a wheelchair and two of them would cater for “bariatric clients” who would be extremely overweight, according to the planning application.
A report to the Planning Committee said: “All 28 units would be affordable housing for council rent.
“There are currently 10 flats across supported living schemes within the city, none of which are accessible to people in wheelchairs.
“There are ‘extra care’ flats that are wheelchair-accessible but age-limited to those over 55.
“None of these services are suitable for people with behavioural needs and none provide the opportunity for young people to be clustered together.
“While there are other wheelchair-accessible flats across the city, they do not have support available on site.
“The redevelopment of Knoll House will provide long-term accommodation with support for people with physical disabilities and brain injuries.
“Some units will be specifically for people aged 18 to 25 and two of the new flats will be designed for bariatric clients.”
The report supports the scheme which includes communal areas, adjustments to the road outside, more parking spaces and a landscaped garden.
The planning application said: “There are currently more than 28 people who are in residential care, placed out of the area or living in inappropriate accommodation, who would benefit from supported accommodation that is accessible for people with mobility problems or who use wheelchairs and that has on-site care and support.”
One neighbour commented on the council website, welcoming the scheme but raising concerns about the level of support that residents would receive.
The commenter, whose details were redacted by the council, said: “I am concerned about how the facility will manage a resident who may pose a threat to the wider community within the estate.
“As a resident of this quiet and peaceful area, I am worried that the behaviour of one resident could negatively impact the entire community.
“I would appreciate more information on what measures will be taken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the wider community and how any disruptive behaviour by a resident will be addressed.”
Last August, the council evicted 21 “property guardians” from Knoll House with four hours’ notice.
Knoll House was under the management of Oaksure Property Services at the time but the council said that the company had not sufficiently improved fire safety standards after failed inspections.
The Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm next Wednesday (5 July). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
The overweight people should just be told to lose weight so two more flats can be allocated to people that have disabilities outside their control.
Solving health problems wouldn’t be a good idea for the medical industry, would it now.
In some people, obesity can be traced to a medical cause, such as Prader-Willi syndrome and Cushing syndrome Medical problems, such as arthritis, also can lead to decreased activity, which may result in weight gain. Some medications can lead to weight gain if you don’t compensate through diet or activity. These medications include some antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, diabetes medications, antipsychotic medications, steroids and beta blockers.
Perhaps you should apply some intelligence before making such ignorant comments, Sarah.
Such comments are unkind and stigmatizing. Some people with very severe obesity have a genetic defect. Their weight is NOT in their control. Obesity is NOT a behavioural defect. It is a chronic disease linked to hypothalmic damage. In those with the most severe form, related to MC4r mutation, there is no treatment.
Heterozygous mutations in MC4R are associated with dominantly inherited obesity and have been reported in obese people from various ethnic groups. The prevalence of MC4R deficiency is approximately 2-5% in severely obese children, 1% in severely obese adults and approximately 1 in 500 in the population making MC4R deficiency the commonest monogenic cause of obesity. Homozygous mutations in MC4R and double heterozygous mutations (different mutations on both alleles) are rare but cause very severe obesity.
Funny how they don’t have this mutation in poor countries or in war time UK.
Funny how this mutation wasn’t to blame before big business pushed their unhealthy foods.
If you can afford to eat that much you can afford a private home. People with acquired brain injuries deserve a decent council home.
Strawman argument. Healthcare in poor countries and wartime UK is significantly worse. And secondly, affordability is another disingenuous strawman argument. Unhealthy food and its consumption is almost always a cheaper option compared to healthy alternatives, and is linked overwhelmingly to poverty academically.
I’ll do you one better for your last statement, which I agree with, with fewer words. People deserve decent homes.