A DAY centre that caters for people with dementia in Bournemouth is set to close and be replaced with nine new homes.

Bournemouth council has submitted proposals for Northbourne Day Centre in Wimborne Road.

The building is “no longer fit for purpose” and needs improving, the council says.

It is proposing to relocate the current care centre to a purpose-built facility on the site of the nearby Malvern Day Centre.

The council’s plans for the “large” 1,349m2 Northbourne site include demolishing the existing buildings and building four two-bedroom semi-detached houses and a single block of five one-bedroom flats in their place.

Previous plans for one large building containing 15 flats were submitted for pre-application advice in August 2018. While the proposal to relocate the day centre facility and build residential accommodation on the site was considered acceptable, the proposed building was deemed too large and not in keeping with the character of the area.

The new proposals are outlined in a design and access statement prepared by Aspire Architects on behalf of Bournemouth council.

“Following the pre-application advice the proposals were amended to provide nine dwellings rather than 15, in several small buildings rather than one large one,” the statement explains.

“The houses and flats will be built with good quality materials to a high standard and create much needed homes in a popular area.

“We therefore believe that the proposed development would be making more efficient use of a currently underused site and would be a benefit to the area.”

Twelve car parking spaces have been proposed as part of the scheme, meeting the requirements of the council’s Parking Zone 3 which covers the site.

The proposed new homes would “all have adequate amenities, parking with a sufficient turning area, bin and cycle storage”, the statement adds.

The houses would also have private rear gardens.

Ivor Cawthorn, head of commissioning and partnerships at Bournemouth Council, said: “Northbourne Day Centre is relocating into Malvern Day Centre because the Northbourne site is an older facility with limited potential to be modernised to meet the needs of individuals with dementia.

"The council is in the process of totally refurbishing Malvern Day Centre into a modern, dementia-friendly environment that will become an invaluable space for people with dementia and their carers. All the current users and Tricuro staff from Northbourne are looking forward to occupying this new fit for purpose centre.”

There are four day care centres in the Bournemouth area run by the council-owned Tricuro service.

Northbourne Day Centre supports people with 'medium to high level dementia' and provides personal care and a variety of activities.