A former care home which was shut down after residents were found to be living in "appalling conditions" could be converted into multiple new homes.

A planning application has been sent, in principle, to Swale council to convert Berkeley House into ten new properties at its site in Lynsted Lane near Teynham, Sittingbourne.

The site is composed of four separate houses - The Windmill, The Granary, The Bakery and Pippin.

The care home, which used to accommodate up to 19 people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, was closed in October 2021.

An unannounced visit by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and its owners The Regard Partnership, shut the premises immediately when it found those in care were living in a shocking environment.

A report found there was no toilet roll in bathrooms because it was locked away in a cupboard which only the manager had access to.

Bedrooms were also filthy with faeces on pillows, bedding and a chair, with one bedroom having a strong smell of urine.

It forced 16 residents to find alternative accommodation with just five hours notice.

However after being unoccupied for nearly two years, plans are now under way for the 5,700 sq m site to be transformed.

If approved, the new plans would see the site have four one-bedroom homes, one home having two bedrooms and three having three bedrooms.

The remaining two properties will have at least four bedrooms.

For one of the potential properties, a new house will be built entirely where the care home's garage once existed.

Information on the application's planning statement says: "The proposal will provide for 10 high-quality family homes.

"The buildings within the site are Grade II-listed and are in need of upgrading and repairing both internally and externally.

"Each property will have access to their own private amenity space and the occupiers of Berkeley House will benefit from a very large communal garden.

"Given that there are minimal external alterations proposed, and the retention of a form of residential use of the building, the change of use is not harmful to the listed buildings.

"The conversion and the new-build dwelling will provide a high standard of residential accommodation to the future occupiers.

"The proposal [also] involves the demolition of the Berkeley Day Rooms, a modern addition of no merit, and the conversion and preservation of the listed buildings - making use of all the historic buildings on the site.

"The change of use of the site will reduce the number of vehicle movements at the site, and as a consequence, keep CO₂ emissions to a minimum."

The care home's former office building will be retained and used as communal storage for the likes of bins and bikes for residents.

The site will continue to have room for 23 parking spaces, although 27 cycle spaces will be added from the current zero.

Floorspace will also increase from 984 to 1005 sq m.

You can view the plans here.

Use reference 23/503880/FULL to see all the available documents.