Plans for a new 75-place care home and 93 apartments are set for Stowmarket town centre after an application was approved.

The plans would see the project built on two plots of land off Prentice Road in the Suffolk town.

Stowmarket Care Centre Limited submitted the application in March 2019 and following a committee meeting last week, the project was voted through by Mid Suffolk District Council.

The applicants said that the care home is needed to extend the capacity of adult social care places in the Stowmarket area.

It is also added that the accommodation, which will feature one and two bed flats, is needed to reach housing targets.

The application said: “We have sought to create a bespoke modern design which responds sympathetically to its context, provides a high quality addition to the town of Stowmarket and delivers an attractive and well-designed Care Home for elderly residents and apartments.

“The design of the development seeks to create a modern, relaxed, spacious and welcoming addition to the housing stock within the town using a mix of local materials and spatial planning to integrate the proposals into the existing fabric of the town.”

The residential development would comprise a pair of apartment buildings, one located to the south of the larger site, containing 55 flats, and the second on the smaller triangular area of land, containing 38 flats.

The proposed care home building would be located at the northern end of the larger site and will contain 75 bedrooms.

The applicant will also have to pay significant fees to support local community infrastructure projects.

This will include £146,172 to be set aside for primary school funds, £56,617 for secondary school provisions and a further £49,998 for pre-school places.

A further £216 per dwelling, or £20,088 will be put towards enhancing provisions at the nearest library and another £110 per household will be put towards waste management provisions.

The care home will also create more than 20 jobs for the town.

However, the application says that none of the flats will contribute to the district’s affordable housing targets.

Despite the lack of affordable properties, Mid Suffolk planning committee members voted to approve the plans due to their economic benefit to the town.