A change of use is being sought to convert part of a redundant Okehampton residential care home into four flats.

The renewed planning application is out to consultation, closing on April 16, for permission to convert Ranelagh House, the former Lyndridge care home on Ranelagh Road.

The flats will have two bedrooms apiece, with two flats on the ground floor and two on the first floor, car parking included.

The site was purchase attempts to auction the private residential care home which has been unoccupied since 2018.

They application states: “The application would make the most effective use of Ranelagh House, achieving an appropriate reuse of a disused building within a sustainable location.”

The application has been resubmitted following an assessment being carried out in neighbouring streets to assess on-street parking.

The applicant commissioned this following an outcry from residents in neighbouring neighbouring flats at Lyndbridge Court and Astley Corte, over their access to parking spaces on the Ranlaegh House site being shut off by the new owners. They say the right to park here is included in their property deeds.

The resubmitted application now states that “the existing car park will remain as is with no allocated bays. Any legal rights of way will be respected. Two newly-created vehicle spaces outside the existing car park will be provided, in addition to the retained unallocated spaces.”

This follows submissions from residents of Lyndbridge Court and Astley Court flats to WDBC in response to the planning application.

One said that their deeds included this right to park in the unallocated spaces on the former care home site. Historically, they were all part of one property.

One resident commented: “I and all in Lyndridge and Astley Court are delighted to say that the owner of Ranelagh House is now in dialogue with the residents, and has opened access to the restricted area of parking… and the resident’s historical rights of access over and up the roads and pathways have been accepted.”

Another resident wrote: “Access to this parking is not surplus or optional; it underpins the day-to-day functioning of our homes and directly affects residents’ wellbeing.

“We respectfully ask that, should planning permission be granted, the retention of the existing car park as a shared, communal facility and the protection of residents’ legal rights of way are clearly reflected in the approved plans and, if appropriate, secured by condition.”

The consultation on the revised planning application closes on Thursday April 16.