EIGHTY jobs are promised when a new care home opens on the edge of York towards the end of next year.

City of York Council has approved the 60-bed scheme, despite the Green Belt location, at 31 Shipton Road, Clifton.

East Yorkshire-based Yorkare Homes, which operates 11 care homes across Yorkshire, can now demolish the existing Lime Trees Public Medical Centre, which has lain empty for two years, for the development.

The scheme also includes the gifting of land to York Sports Club for the creation of new sports pitches.

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The planning committee of City of York Council had been recommended by council planning staff to approve the project when it met earlier this month.

Despite the harm to the Green Belt, planners said the scheme delivers significant benefits in providing much needed residential care and community sports facilities.

Members agreed with them, approving the scheme as recommended, with the Secretary of State making the final decision as it is a large scheme in a Green Belt Location.

York Press: The Lime Trees Medical Centre as it stands today

As previously reported, the 60-bed care home would have 40 rooms on the first and second floors providing dementia care and 20 rooms on the ground floor used for residential care.

The building would also contain communal areas, lounges and dining spaces, kitchens, staff areas, laundry room and assisted bathrooms; plus on-site hairdressers and cinema room.

Laurence Garton, Developments Director at Yorkare Homes, says the state-of-the-art facility will provide residential, dementia and respite care, also reducing the undersupply of such services in the area.

Demolishing the old, abandoned site will start in late May, with the home expected to be open in late 2025.

Mr Garton continued: “As part of the planning application, we agreed to gift and provide land to York Sports Club, located next door, which will create up to six RFU standard junior sports pitches and will create a new 2-acre sports field for the local community on the existing open space.

“This will hugely respond to the need and growing demand for junior boys’ and girls’ rugby and respond to the need for training pitches for all age groups.

“This is something that we are so excited and proud to be a part of and to have had this amazing opportunity to give back and support the local community.

York Press: Artists impression of the approved scheme

“The home will provide around 50 full-time and 30 part-time jobs across healthcare and general running of the home for the area.”

He added: “Our proposals have been designed to fit sympathetically with the local surroundings and include extensive gardens, which would include a new pond, extensive tree planting, and a wildflower meadow while retaining all the boundary trees, we will be bringing this currently unused site back to life, and this brownfield land will be beautifully redeveloped for the area.”