‘Multi-generational building’ including old people’s home and primary school to be discussed by planning chiefs

Citu Developments want permission to build a “multi-generational building”, featuring a primary school and 60-bed elderly person’s care home, in Hunslet and are bringing a pre-application before the council’s city plans panel next week.

It follows scientific research which suggests interaction with children can help combat mental decline and loneliness among elderly people.

The proposed four storey building would be built on a brownfield site at Sayner Lane in Hunslet. It would comprise a ground floor nursery and primary school, adjacent to a 60-bed care home, which would be on the ground floor up to the third floor, and 62 flats, which would be on the first floor up to the fourth floor.

The development would also feature a central landscaped courtyard space, which developers claim would “encourage interaction between the generations and the wider community”.

It is proposed that all amenity spaces will be opened up and made available to all users, including the general public, out of typical school/nursery hours.

A council report into the pre-application stated: “The proposal offers a significant opportunity to provide much needed community facilities in the area, which are considered to be positive steps in transforming the South Bank from a number of post-industrial cleared sites to a well-designed, sustainable mixed use, balanced community, for all ages to live, including families and older people.”

The plans echo the recent hit Channel 4 TV show Old People’s Home for Four Year Olds, in which a group of pre-school children shared their class with a group of pensioners, to see whether the wellbeing of the elderly people improved.

As it is a pre-application, no decision will be made at the meeting on Thursday June 27, and panel members will instead be invited to comment on the plans to help guide developers.

A more detailed plan is expected to be submitted in the future.