PLANS to build a care home on the site of a former hospice in Poole have been submitted.

Care South has applied to clear the Crichel Mount Road site to make way for an art deco-style 50-bed facility, part of which would provided specialised support for people with dementia.

It said the care home would be named Marjorie House, after Marjorie Lewis-Manning who bequeathed the land to the Lewis-Manning Hospice before it moved in 2019.

The hospice took its first patients in 1992 and operated for 27 years before the land was sold as part of the organisation's expansion of its community care operations.

The site was bought by Poole-based not-for-profit Care South in September 2019 after its decision to relocate to a base near Poole Hospital in Longfleet Road.

It had considered remodelling the existing building into a 41-bed care home but instead it agreed to submit plans for a replacement to better meet the requirements of such a facility.

"There were just too many compromised areas that fell short of the high standards required by Care South," a statement submitted with its application says. "This led to the proposal of replacing the building with a new purpose-made facility that would accord with the operational and spatial needs, as well as the quality of the spaces required."

The application proposes the demolition of the former hospice to make way for a 50-bed art deco-style care home.

Sixteen ground floor bedrooms will be for people with dementia with 34 first and second floor bedrooms for less specialised use.

A statement submitted by planning consultancy Terence O'Rourke said the originally planned conversion "would not satisfy" the care home's requirements.

"Particular issues included the limited size and constrained layout of the

bedrooms being created, compromised communal areas and the costs involved in upgrading the building to achieve the necessary heating and ventilation standards for a modern care home," it says.

"Due to these concerns, Care South decided to pursue an alternative scheme, which involves the demolition and replacement of the existing building with a bespoke, high quality facility at the site."

The application will be considered by BCP Council planning officers in the coming weeks.