A MONMOUTH care home has been given retrospective planning permission to allow accommodation to be used by staff.

Gibraltar House Nursing Home on Monmouth Road has already started using accommodation for the staff due to the site’s remote location.

The 95-bed care and nursing home also has 36 independent living cottages and apartments for residents, but only 26 are in use.

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The cottages, while independent, provide “close care” accommodation for residents. However, the care home has been using the remaining 10 for staff who find it difficult to access the care home due to its isolated location.

The staff accommodation includes five first floor apartments and five cottages, each with two bedrooms.

However, a letter of objection received by the council for the application says the original planning permission for the care home required the close care accommodation to be occupied by people aged 55 or older.

But, the council report says: “Due to the relatively isolated position of the Gibraltar Care Village, the majority of employees are unable to live in close proximity to the site, thus resulting in a long commute.

“Clearly, having to live off site and travel to the care village in the event of an emergency would add considerably to response times, potentially putting resident’s lives at risk.

“Moreover, external influences such as traffic, bad weather and road works can all serve to increase commuting and response times – further jeopardising the well-being of residents.”

Many of the residents occupying the close care apartments and cottages have early onset dementia, making their support needs “variable and unpredictable”.

The report says that staff living on site would allow round-the-clock care to residents.