Dorset Council chiefs have agreed to transform a care home in Bridport into the county’s first reablement centre.
The former Sidney Gale care home will be converted into a recovery hub for elderly people.
The 60-bed facility will offer short-term intensive care and therapy in a home-like environment.
A planning application is likely to come forward to planners at Dorset Council early next year and construction could begin in early 2026.
Reablement involves a six-week assessment and support service provided to people who rely on others.
It will help people from the Bridport community to carry on living in their community independently after illness.
Reablement involves a six-week assessment and support service provided to people who rely on others.
It will help people from the Bridport community to carry on living in their community independently after illness.
David Dixon, project manager and community initiatives officer at Bridport Council, which will consider the plans in November, said: “The building is set on a brownfield site which is an ex industrial site and so the council are unsure of what is beneath.”
This has delayed the planning so far as they are unsure whether they can build over it, he added.
There are also talks to create a second reablement centre on the site of the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.
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