Newark Town Council planning committee supported a planning application for Heathcotes Enright Lodge at 2 and 4 Enright Close, Newark

Councillors shared their support for an application to change the use of secure residential care to supported living units.

Newark Town Council planning committee was pleased that the application for Heathcotes Enright Lodge at 2 and 4 Enright Close, Newark, kept the building’s community use.

The plans submitted by Ivolve Care and Support are to change the use of two bungalows from secure residential care to four supported living units.

The four units would comprise three apartments and one shared house, with associated communal areas.

Laurence Goff said: “This building was empty for quite a while and I was happy it was brought back to use.

“I am glad that they kept it for community use.”

Planning permission has previously been granted for the conversion of the bungalows from secure residential care use to dwellinghouses, comprising six self-contained apartments — with three in each bungalow — through a series of overlapping permissions.

However, the permissions have not been implemented and the main permission granted in 2021 has now expired.

The current application is seeking to renew the permissions for dwelling houses use under one single permission but with a slightly altered housing mix.

Bungalow two will have three apartments and bungalow four will be a shared house for four people rather than three individual apartments to meet the council’s current housing demand.

The planning committee was unanimously supportive of the application.