Three care homes to be replaced with two new hubs

Three care homes are to close and be replaced by two new purpose-built care and support hubs as part of new plans.

North Yorkshire Council have approved £30m proposals to shut Station View in Harrogate, Silver Birches in Filey and Larpool Lane in Whitby and replace them with new facilities in Harrogate and Scarborough.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council officers have calculated that the two new hubs would save the authority up to £6.3m a year.

Both hubs would have 60 beds, with care provided to people leaving hospital requiring bed-based intermediate care as well as dementia patients.

£15.7m will be put towards the hub on Ainsty Road in Harrogate whilst £16.9m has been approved for a hub in the Middle Deepdale area of Eastfield.

Hannah Brown, the council's commissioning and provider services development manager, said: "One of the main drivers of the pressures on HAS [health and adult services] budgets is the requirement to purchase increasing levels of high-cost specialist residential dementia care in the independent care sector.

"The cost of such provision is often further increased by the requirement to fund additional 1:1 hours to meet a person's needs, which is not only costly but can represent a highly restrictive model of care."

In Harrogate, residential dementia placements as a proportion of all residential care placements have increased by 12% in the last two years, while in Scarborough the figure was 10%.

North Yorkshire Council's report into the facilities noted Harrogate's Station View needed substantial investment to remain safe and operational.

Maintenance costs for the site have exceeded £300,000 over the last four years and a further £1.9m of repairs are expected.

The Filey and Whitby homes were both built in the 1970s and also require investment to remain safe, with more than £1.1m already spent on maintenance over four years and a further £3.5m needed.

Planning permission is due to be sought for the facilities this summer with work due to start in June 2027 and the hubs opening in August 2028.

Three more care and support hubs are planned to replace four other care homes as part of a £60m overhaul of dementia care in the county.

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