THE DERELICT site of a former care home has been put back out for tender for smaller companies to consider.

Fosters care home in Fosters Lane, Woodley, was closed down in 2013 because the building was no longer fit for purpose.

The land, which is owned by Wokingham Borough Council, was put up for tender in April for developers to consider.

The site didn't attract many offers from developers, so the council decided to put the site back up for tender using the Official Journal of the European Union process.

The council considered alternative uses for the site, such as housing, but decided there was a need for another care home in Woodley, according to borough councillor David Chopping.

Cllr Chopping, chairman of Wokingham Housing Limited, the borough council’s commercial subsidiary, said just two companies came forward.

“We ended up with a possibility of 34 units that could include a basic dementia element within the development,” said Cllr Chopping.

“Three or four contractors showed interest but, when it came down to it, two of them decided the development was too small for them.

“Two companies are not enough. If one drops out we are essentially legally bound to hand the site over to the other company and we are not prepared to take that risk.”

Wokingham Housing Limited secured a loan of £1.4m, courtesy of the Homes and Community Agency, which can be put towards the estimated £6m that the project will cost in total.

Permission has been granted to re-tender the site to 'smaller' companies.

Andrea Jenkins, communications manager for Wokingham Borough Council emphasised that the site is not for sale.

She said: "The site is in the process of tending for the building contract. This is being done by the council’s development partner Wokingham Housing Limited (WHL). Initially the Homes and Community Agency’s tender framework for the building contract was used – but only two expressions of interest were received. Neither WHL or the Council felt this offered best value for money, and the right thing to do would be to start the OJEU process.

This will be open to all companies to express an interest in building the extra-care scheme in Woodley.