A plan to build an environmentally friendly 66-bed care home for the elderly has won approval from councillors.
The three-storey residential home will be built near Hay Lane, Spennymoor.
Senior planning officer Mark O’Sullivan said it would fill one of the last plots in the DurhamGate development area.
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LNT Care Developments’ plan was considered at a Durham County Council planning committee meeting.
There were no objections, though the council’s children and adult services department expressed concern about the impact on existing homes, the potential to create empty beds and put homes at risk.
Agent Tracey Spencer, representing the applicant, said: “From our research we do not share the concerns.
“We have identified a demand for a further 66 beds.
“The home will provide an additional choice of accommodation within the area to meet the needs of this growing elderly population.
“It will provide 50 to 60 jobs and enhance growth in this area.”
Councillor Liz Brown praised the inclusion of solar panels and heat pumps in the plans.
She said: “I’m very pleased to see that on a planning application. We don’t see it very often, I’m sorry to say.
“This ticks all my boxes.
“County Durham has an ageing population and this is providing for the future, possibly my future.”.
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the scheme, as recommended by planning officers.
