Plan to Convert Crowne Plaza Hotel into Home For Elderly


96-bedroom care unit would specialise in dementia care

The Crowne Plaza, pictured next door to the heliport
The Crowne Plaza, pictured next door to the heliport. Picture: Google Streetview

Following the sale of the former Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bridges Court Road earlier this year, planning has been submitted to Wandsworth council to change the use of several floors from a hotel to a 96-bedroom care home for the elderly.

The fourteen storey building is also known as the Altura Tower with private residential accommodation on the upper floors, which will remain in place.

The care home application is currently in progress and being managed on behalf of Woodlon Limited by the Arora Group, a hotel, property and construction management group for whom former Chancellor Philip Hammond acts as Chairman of the Advisory Board.

The proposed planning for the new 96-room care home includes the same gross internal floorplan as the hotel of over 7,400 metres squared, comprising the basement, ground floor, Mezzanine, first to fifth floors and thirteenth floor. The proposals include residents’ bedrooms and lounges on all floors except the basement which will house a gym, laundry, residents’ storage, a cinema, gym and hair salon. The ground floor is for an entrance hall as well as staff and admin facilities, while the Mezzanine floor will be for a general manager’s office, staff changing facilities and a bar.

York-based architects, TDC Arch Design, have drawn up plans for the proposed changes from a ‘Class C1’ hotel, to a ‘Class 2’ care home. The company’s founding members, Chris Shearman and Richard Bailey, have a background in designing care homes and villages. Their joint design and construction experience covers a 2,000 place care home in China, Bupa’s flagship care home in Farnham as well as high-end commercial designs for the likes of Ferrari and Porsche as well as small-scale projects, home remodelling and restoration work.

The planning statement for Wandsworth Council reveals that the care home would be operated by Avery Healthcare Group, a private sector provider which specialises in dementia care. The home would be registered with the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care services in England.

There have been 64 objections to the proposals so far and the application is still open for comment on the council’s planning explorer under reference number 2021/2594.

The Bridges Court Road Crowne Plaza building was originally opened in 2010 under the name of The Verta, and was operated by the now-defunct Von Essen Group. It was rebranded as the Crowne Plaza in 2015 under the ownership of Hong Kong based Platinum Estates.

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November 22, 2021