A LYME Regis care home shut down after being placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been put up for sale for more than £1.6m.

Lymewood Care Home, between Lyme Regis and Uplyme, was closed by the owners in September after the CQC rated it as ‘inadequate’, and all residents were moved to alternative accommodation.

It has now been put up for sale by estate agents Savills and joint agent Christie and Co with a guide price of £1,640,000.

In the CQC report, the home was rated ‘inadequate’ for safety, offering a caring service and a well-led service – while it was marked as ‘requiring improvement’ for offering an effective and a responsive service.

The report said: “Management and staff in the service had not recognised safeguarding issues and had not made referrals to the appropriate agencies. This had left people at risk, and had not protected them from harm.

“People’s health, safety and welfare were put at risk because there were not always sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff on duty at all times.”

Lymewood Care Home, previously known as Woodhouse, is two miles north east of Lyme Regis. It is a detached grade II listed care home with two flats in the Carriage House, an additional flat over the garage and a collection of outbuildings.

The care home was registered to cater for 37 residents.

Mark Chugg of Savills development team, said: “Lymewood is an attractive property set in its own mature gardens in a sought after rural location. It has the potential for a range of uses, subject to planning. In the first instance it could be reopened as a care home or for other uses within the C2 category.

“The building also lends itself to residential development with horizontal or vertical subdivision into flats or houses.“The property could be developed for further alternative uses, subject to planning”

Lymewood Care Home was originally built as a private house in 1879. The use of the property changed in 1983 when it became a care home for the elderly, specialising in dementia care. The building was used as a care home for more than 30 years until the owners closed it on September 25, following the publication of the CQC report.

The site extends to 5.46 acres.

Lymewood is for sale by private treaty and is available either as a whole or in three lots. For more information, please contact Cary Leighton on 01392 455715 or Simon Harvey on 01392 285600.