MORE than 40 jobs would be created with the creation of a new residential care home at Lostock Gralam.

A three-storey, 66-bedroom care home is earmarked for land off Manchester Road by Leeds-based Ideal Care Homes.

The home would create 42 jobs, 26 of which would be care workers, and 86 per cent of the total would be full-time.

Up to 15 members of staff would be at the home at one time due to shift patterns and staggered changes.

The home would be built alongside the Watermead pub, and its residents would be expected to come from within three miles of the site or with associations with families or relatives in the same area.

Planning approval for the home is being sought from Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Ideal Care Homes has built a series of care homes for older people across Yorkshire, Lancashire and the Midlands, most recently in York, Barnsley, Liverpool and Nottingham.

A report accompanying the planning application said the site earmarked for the home had good accessibility to public transport, amenities and local services, including Northwich town centre.

“The development of this site for a care home will have a positive impact upon the area by developing the site for a beneficial use and fulfil a need, while providing a development sympathetic in terms of scale and design,” said the report.

“The development would bring economic benefits by creating employment and economic activity, both during construction and in the long-term operation of the home.

“The development is proposed by Ideal Care Homes after research into the demand and market conditions in the area.

“This evidence confirms that there is a quantitative and qualitative need for the proposed facility, and Ideal Care Homes are satisfied that the home would be fully occupied on a continuous basis and as such a commercially viable proposition.”

The home would be reached from a new access off Cheshire Avenue, and 18 car parking spaces are proposed as well as an ambulance/taxi drop-off area and two disabled/mobility spaces near the main entrance.

The scheme includes an enclosed garden surrounding the home.