​Herefordshire Council’s planning committee of councillors will decide next week whether to approved the plan, put forward by Worcester-based Heritage Manor Ltd, for the site of St Barnabas Church in Venns Lane to the northeast of the city. The firm already operates the neighbouring Newstead House nursing home, and would share staff with the new facility. RELATED NEWS : Herefordshire Council’s housing development officer said there is “a vast need in Hereford” for care bed spaces – though it wasn’t clear whether nursing care was being proposed here. Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB (integrated care board) said the “patient growth” would mean extra demands on local primary healthcare, which the developer should contribute £21,600 to. View of the proposed care home (from application) The 13 public objections mostly related to the claimed overdevelopment of the site, and resulting overlooking and loss of privacy, along with traffic and parking issues. But county highways engineer H Davies said the proposed parking arrangements were acceptable, adding: “While the layout is not the most convenient, sufficient spaces are provided and their dimensions meet the required standards.” What are your thoughts? You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here. Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence. They confirmed a barrier system would restrict access to the care home site. Hereford City Council also did not object. In light of this, planning officer Heather Carlisle is recommending the committee approve the scheme. Stay updated with all the latest Herefordshire news that matters to you! Read the local news and stay informed with our advert-free app, read the paper before anyone else via: The Digital Edition, gain unlimited access to Hereford Times website, and much more. She and colleagues have “secured a scheme that includes pitched roofs and a greater variety of materials and forms to break up the mass of development and better reflect its surroundings”, she wrote in her report. It explains that the church “is no longer needed by the parish, which has three other church buildings, and as such was declared closed for regular public worship on in June 2019”. OTHER NEWS : It was later leased to Oasis Church, an independent evangelical group, but only until July 2024, since when it has remained empty. The Diocese has been unable to find an alternative owner or user of the building, while its community uses can, or have been, accommodated elsewhere. Any harm from its loss “would be very limited, and outweighed by the social and economic benefits arising from the provision of extended care accommodation”, Ms Carlisle concluded.