Green light tipped for Sunderland care home

Plans to construct a care home at the site of a former car sales garage in Sunderland look set to advance.Verum Victum Healthcare, which specialises in developing supported housing provision, is looking to build a 94-unit home on a 1.5-acre parcel of land on Washington Road.The vacant site was previously home to a Jennings Ford dealership, and part of it is currently in use as a hand car wash facility.The proposed four-storey development will be made up of 58 apartments for extra care, specialist care and assisted living accommodation, alongside a 36-bed intermediate care facility.Within the building would be a communal sitting area, restaurant, salon, spa, activity and physio rooms and a buggy store. A communal garden is also proposed.A planning statement submitted with the plans said that the scheme would create a number of social benefits “through the creation of a safe and attractive environment for people in need of care”.It added that it would generate “significant economic benefits” through the creation of new jobs and the regeneration of a vacant site.The development will go before Sunderland Planning and Highways Committee on Monday 6 March with the recommendation for approval.