Building once known as The Summer Cross pub in Otley could become new 66-bed Leeds care home

Publicly accessible planning application documents reveal plans are being put in place for the former pub to become a 66-bed mixed care facility with dementia care and a bistro. Plans outline that the aim is to retain and refurbish the existing building but also transform the site it sits on.

The pub was closed in 2006, but did reopen before closing again in 2009. It has been vacant for over 13 years, although planning permission for the development of a residential care home was granted in July 2009. The various single-storey extensions to the side of the existing building were demolished around this time.

However, the extant planning permission was not fully implemented, leaving the site vacant. The site has now been acquired by Springfield Healthcare and the company now plans to develop a care home, described as a ‘viable new use for the building’. The application states that works have the potential to enhance the significance of the part of the Otley Conservation Area the former pub is based in.

The existing building is steeped in history and the application says the site itself dates back to at least the early 19th century. Once known as The Summer Cross Hotel, it has undergone various developments and had several owners. The application states that in May 1881, an advert in former newspaper Leeds Mercury noted that ‘Summercross Hotel’ was available to let and outlined that the site included ‘two billiard tables fit up complete for pool and pyramids, stabling for three horses, shed, and about three acres of orchard and garden’.

The design intention of the proposal is for the existing building to form the principal building, framed by modern additions, and for the site to be reinstated as a focus for the community. The rear of the proposed development has been designed around a shared external green space to allow for retention of mature trees and fruit trees, creating a ‘positive and interactive space that can be used by the residents’. Plans can be viewed on the Leeds.Gov.UK website.