New Bedrooms Underway at Reading Care Home

Construction is underway at Northcourt Lodge in Northcourt Avenue, Reading, to add more bedrooms for older people. The 22-space nursing home is building a two-storey block with 13 double bedrooms.

Northcourt Lodge provides residential, dementia, nursing and respite care. Residents usually pay for their stays, though some funding can come partly from local council top-ups.

Photos from the site show part of the entrance and areas sealed off while contractors lay piping and install utilities. The new building looks largely up but still needs utility work and land remediation.

The project follows permission granted by Reading Borough Council in 2022. The company, Northcourt Lodge Care Home Ltd, applied in May to move a seven-space car park, create a new access path and relocate bins.

If approved, the parking spaces would move from just south of the existing building near Northcourt Avenue to an area north of the building near Wellington Avenue.

"Although my garden only has one corner that connects to Northcourt Lodge land, I feel I will notice the change in the planning application considerably.

"The different circumstances that are now being applied for are going to make a considerable difference to the nearby gardens in Wellington Avenue.

"Cars will be coming very close to my garden to park, turn around and leave.

"This will involve fumes, the noise of doors closing and light disturbance from headlights."

They also lamented a loss of garden space within the lodge site. The developer says the changes make for a better site design for existing and future occupants.

You can view the application using reference PL/26/0299 on the council's planning portal.

Nursing homes in England are overseen by the Care Quality Commission. Northcourt Lodge was rated "Good" after its last inspection in March 2021, which focused on measures to keep residents safe during the coronavirus pandemic. A July 2023 review found no need for reassessment at that time.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter