New care home to be built on former Wakefield pit site
A 1.5-acre plot of council-owned land looks set to be sold to allow for a new care home to be built in Wakefield.
Wakefield Council also proposes spending £516,000 to build a new road to access the site at City Fields.
A report said the scheme would deliver a “high-quality care offer that meets residents’ needs.”
The council’s cabinet members have been asked to agree to sell the land, off Neil Fox Way, to a specialist care home developer for an undisclosed sum.
The site, which was part of a coal mine until the 1980s, was earmarked for a retirement village or care home in 2024 and put on the market in October last year.
Financial details of the proposed sale to LNT Care Developments have not been made publicly available.
The local authority said publishing the information was not in the public interest as it was “likely to severely prejudice current and future negotiations.”
The new facility could be operational in two years if senior councillors agree to the recommendation.
Research produced on behalf of the developer said it was expected that 727 additional care places would be required within a four-mile catchment area of the site by 2028, with 1,847 required overall in the Wakefield district.
A new suburb of around 2,500 homes is expected at City Fields when the major expansion to the east of the city is completed.
The report said using council funds to construct the road would ensure other planned developments nearby could also be accessed.
The document said: “The delivery of this scheme will ensure that Wakefield can offer a high-quality care offer that meets residents’ needs within the shortest time frame possible.
“This route of disposal will ensure that the quality of the development can be maintained through the controls afforded under the planning process.
“The installation of the roadway and drainage will allow future phases to be brought forward.”
The site is part of a larger piece of land that was previously earmarked for the construction of 95 houses.
The residential scheme was scrapped in 2024 in favour of reallocating six acres for a new school to be built, with options for the remaining land to include a care home.
A report at the time said the site was better suited for education purposes due to “poor ground conditions.”
It stated that offices and pit buildings of the old Parkhill Colliery once occupied the site and some “relic” structures remained underground.
Cabinet members will consider the report at a meeting on March 17