Care home could be demolished for flats

An empty care home that became a hotspot for vandalism and rough sleeping could soon be demolished to make way for new flats.

City of Wolverhampton Council alongside housing partner Keon Homes is to demolish the forgotten Blakenhall Resource Centre to make way for 30 new flats.

The facilities in Haggar Street, Wolverhampton, closed in 2020 after a spate of break-ins and vandal attacks led to dementia services moving to West Park.

Most of the building had been used as a care home until it was closed down by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2015.

The plans for the new three-storey building with a mix of one-to-three-bed flats would “breathe new life into the area,” the application said.

“The proposal brings substantial benefits including 30 high-quality, energy-efficient affordable homes, the replacement of an empty, unused building and the delivery of much-needed affordable housing units particularly suited to smaller families and existing Wolverhampton residents,” the application said.

The statement goes on to say the work would remove a building that was “not fit for purpose that brought issues of anti-social behaviour and rough sleeping” as well as improve parking and the look of the street.

The specialist unit for people with dementia, which opened in 1997, was deregistered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2015 over concerns about the standard of care.

The care watchdog barred the care home, which was run by City of Wolverhampton Council, from accepting new residents lambasting the authority for bad record keeping and mismanaging medicines.

The dementia service moved from Blakenhall to Action for Independence in the city’s West Park in 2020 after a review found the facilities were unsuitable for those with significant mobility issues and many parts of the building were difficult to access by those who could move around easier.

Just ten per cent of the building was in use when it finally closed its doors and the council admitted its ‘vacant’ appearance may have been the reason behind a string of break-ins and vandalism.

The building was finally declared ‘surplus to requirements’ by City of Wolverhampton Council in 2023 and listed for sale as part of a ‘community asset transfer’ deal to local groups and organisations with a caveat the site would be sold if a suitable tenant was not found.

By Christian Barnett | Local Democracy Reporting Service