PLANS to transform a former York care home into a base for health and social care charities have been handed in.

The £1million proposals, drawn up by York Council for Voluntary Service, would see Oliver House in Bishophill – which closed in March – turned into office and activity space for a range of organisations.

An application submitted to City of York Council, which owned the care home, said the project would provide space for 22 charities “of varying sizes” and make Oliver House a centre for integrated services for residents, particularly elderly and disabled people.

The plans also include a café for staff and visitors, where people with learning disabilities or mental health problems would be employed, and a front extension to improve the entrance to the building.

The closure of Oliver House as an elderly people’s home came amid a wider shake-up of care across the city by the council. It involves closing York’s nine outdated care homes and replacing them with two “super care homes”, one of which would be at Haxby Hall, as well as a care village on the former Lowfields School site.

The other new care home was originally earmarked for Fordlands Road in Fulford, but the authority has now said the site is not suitable and has launched a consultation on plans to build it at Burnholme Community College once the school closes in 2014.

A planning statement for the Oliver House scheme, produced by Mass Architecture, said: “The services [at the building] will contribute to the strategic aims of the council, particularly in relation to enabling older people and disabled residents to live full, inclusive and independent lives.

“The proposed development would benefit a wide range of people in the local community. Along with providing individual support, it would allow for group meetings, creating an opportunity for social interaction.”

A decision is expected to be made in March.