A former care home which shut unexpectedly almost two years ago could soon be given a new lease of life.

Plans to convert Dene Holm House, Northfleet, into 23 flats with associated building and landscaping works have been submitted to Gravesham council.

The building has remained vacant since the care home’s closure but has been occupied by guardianship meaning it has been kept secure and maintained.

Now, Anchorage Prop Limited has presented plans to convert the 4,665sq m site into 23 flats with 31 car parking spaces and 24 cycle spaces.

The London-based firm wants to create four one-bedroom, 11 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom apartments across three floors.

Two of the flats will be designed for wheelchair users and will include turning spaces in the flat, a wet room, and adjustable kitchen counters if the scheme is approved.

The plans also include minor external changes such as installing new doors and windows and creating private patios and lawns and a wildflower and grassland communal area.

The submitted affordable policy statement said: “The benefits of this development are its contribution to the supply of housing generally in Gravesham and its contribution to the regeneration of the host building.”

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It added that the scheme would also bring the brownfield site back into “productive use”.

The owner of The Gravesend Florist, in Dene Holm Road, Lisa Gordon said it would be good to see the building brought back into use.

She added: “It would be nice to see it revived as it is really tatty looking at the moment and it would be nice to see it as affordable housing.

“We need more affordable housing so if it is flats it might be, rather than the more expensive homes being built around Ebbsfleet.

“It is a shame it will not be another care home as we used to deliver there a lot but there are other ones being built and opened nearby.”

A decision is expected on the plans by Thursday, March 20.

The home, which Rapport Housing and Care ran, shut in January 2023 as bosses blamed a staffing “crisis”, rising energy costs and “chronic underfunding from the government”.

In a statement issued in October 2022 by chief executive Leon Steer, said it would be shutting the Northfleet site alongside Edward Moore House in Gravesend and Connors House in Canterbury because they were no longer viable.

It added: “The social care sector is currently under extreme pressure and amid the greatest workforce crisis in history.

“Unfortunately, the staffing crisis, combined with chronic underfunding from the government, rising energy costs and essential forecasted property improvement works has left us in a position where operating these homes is no longer viable.

“The sector needs urgent reform and until action is taken, there will undoubtedly be many more care home closures across the UK.

“As we start the closure process, the wellbeing of our residents remains our priority, and we will be supporting our residents and their loved ones as they move into alternative accommodation.”

The announcement came mere months after the Dene Holm Road care home was downgraded from “good” to “inadequate” by health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The inspection found residents’ health conditions and safety risks were not being managed well enough and Mr Steer said “immediate action” was taken to improve the service.