PLANS to demolish a former care home and build two blocks of flats have been resubmitted after being refused twice.

Management at Avonwood Manor in Nelson Road, Poole, blamed Brexit uncertainty that led to difficulties in recruitment for its closure in 2018.

Now, owners Domesticus Limited are seeking outline planning permission to demolish the former nursing home and replace it with two blocks of 12 flats.

These blocks would consist of eight two-bedroom flats and four one-bedroom flats, with parking and bin and cycle storage.

The care home has previously been subject to two applications to redevelop it since it closed.

The first was lodged in 2019 and refused in December 2020, before an altered application to build a total of 25 flats was submitted in 2021 and rejected in February of this year.

There were 22 objections to the second of these schemes, with five reasons given by planning officers for its refusal.

Among these reasons were that the proposed buildings would be out of keeping with the other houses in the area, and that the plans would create flats that were too small, resulting in ‘unacceptably poor living conditions’.

In response to the refusal, the new scheme features redesigned blocks and an altered configuration inside the buildings and on the plot.

A design and access statement submitted to the council by Pure Town Planning on behalf of the applicant said: “The heritage statement and revised colour street scene demonstrates a clear understanding of the local architectural vernacular, along with a much more sensitive pallet of architectural details, materials and more spaciousness between the two blocks.”

It added that the reconfiguration of the plot would give flats an improved outlook with more natural light entering rooms.

The repositioning of the second block would also help the development in its relation to tress on the plot, another reason for the previous refusal.

The statement concluded that while the previously refusals were recognised, the reduction in units, reduction in scale and massing and re-siting of the blocks and other changes to the scheme, the applicant hopes the previous issues have now been addressed.

A neighbour consultation will end on September 10, with no date set for a decision at this stage.