Three houses in Caversham will be transformed into a care home despite concerns over access to a busy road.

Houses at 199, 201 and 203 Henley Road, in Caversham, will be demolished and replaced with an 82-bed care home.

Neighbour Nigel Roberts raised concern that “Henley Road is a busy road and hard for people to get in and out of their drives”.

He said he also worries “the lovely views we have to got at the moment will just disappear”.

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James Roberts, representing the applicant Signature Senior Lifestyle, said the home will deliver “significant benefits to the community” and is an “appropriate location”.

He said they have refined the scheme after listening to residents and have letters of support from some of the site’s closest neighbours.

Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Planning Applications committee backed the plans last night (Wednesday, October 9).

Conservative councillor Clare Grashoff, speaking to the committee as a ward councillor, said “It would be nice if we can finally make progress with this site”.

She said the care home looks high quality and “it is a lovely area for it” but she has worries about the access to the “busy” Henley Road.

Fellow Peppard ward councillor Jane Stanford-Beale said this is the eleventh time an application has come forward at the site.

She questioned: “Will this actually built?”

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A plan for 42 flats at 199-203 Henley Road was approved in December 2017 but the flats were never built.

Cllr Stanford-Beale also raised concern about how busy Henley Rd is but said she was “impressed” with the build quality, sprinkler system and biodiversity conditions.

Lib Dem councillor Ricky Duveen had questioned why access to the property could not come from the Ruskin but the case officer said this is not possible because a third party owns part of the land that would need to be used.

The care home will provide specialised nursing and dementia care.

The development will include a range of on-site communal facilities for residents including a restaurant, lounge, café, library, cinema, salon, spa bathing and therapy space, sensory gardens and outdoor space.