AMBITIOUS plans for a new 72 bedroom care home, along with ancillary day care centre and hydrotherapy unit in Newent have been submitted to the Forest of Dean District Council.

The redevelopment is planned for the Three Ashes care home, and, in four phases, would see the construction of three new building blocks, before the demolition of the existing care home, followed by extensive new landscaping around a new access road.

The owners of the care home, which is situated in Ledbury Road, Newent, applied to the council earlier this month, with a tranche of 68 documents, including detailed plans, drawings and reports.

Three Ashes was taken over in November 2012 by Cleeve Hill Healthcare, which is based in Cheltenham and runs Forest Link, the domiciliary care-in-the-home business, also based in Newent.

In a statement on the company website, it stated "There would be an increase in the number of beds, and, as well as caring for the elderly, we will be able to provide specialist residential dementia and acquired brain injury care.

"Our local care in the community team will also be based at Three Ashes delivering services including home care, meals on wheels, and laundry."

It adds: "The development will bring with it a need for us to employ around 100 additional staff and as we are essentially a local service we shall, of course, be giving priority to local people.

"Our own training team will ensure applicants can acquire any additional skills they may need either on site, or at our training centre in Cheltenham."

The application in full can be viewed at the Forest Council website, using the reference P0564/14/FUL.