A COMPANY famous for care homes that feature vintage ‘high streets’ plans to open a new home on a major redevelopment site.

Holt Family Holdings already have homes in Bingley, Baildon, Leeds and most recently Clayton – and have now submitted a planning application to build a 72-bed care home in Eccleshill.

The company’s homes have hit the headlines in recent years for their “memory lane” areas that aim to trigger memories and conversations among their residents, some of whom will have Dementia.

Homes feature false shop fronts such as sweet shops and greengrocers, designed to look like they are from the time period in which many of the residents will have grown up.

Rooms also feature vintage posters from decades old movies.

If the latest plans are approved the new care home would be built at the former Union Mills site on Harrogate Road, where a new Lidl and Starbucks have recently been built.

Plans to build employment units and a drive thru Burger King at the other side of the site were also recently approved.

The original planning permission for the large site was to replace the mill and a fishing lake with commercial units, such as shops, with the land designated as employment use.

The new application argues that despite the fact that a care home would be classed as residential, it will create more jobs than many other “employment” uses.

The application says: “Our proposal is for a building which is residential in character, but which is a commercial enterprise providing approximately 70 jobs – which would be way in excess of many shops, warehouses or other commercial uses.”

The site is also a short distance from an ongoing development of 600 homes.

The building would be two storeys tall, and have a sensory garden for residents.

The application says that the home will, like the company’s other homes, have spaces “filled with interesting features such as fake shops and memorabilia which aim to offer interactive activities and also to trigger memories for resident, and to provide opportunities for residents to talk and reminisce of bygone times.”

There will also be a cinema room and hairdressers.

The application adds: “Our proposals will offer high quality 21st Century care within an existing mixed use area. The scheme will provide for the needs of an ever expanding and increasingly aging population.”

A decision on the application is expected in November.