Plans to build a new 81-bed care home on the grounds of a train maintenance firm will create nearly a hundred social care jobs in Crewe, reports Staffordshire newspaper The Sentinel.

Bombardier, a train maintenance firm based in the area, has agreed to sell two acres of redundant land  at its site in Crewe to Keenrick Care Homes. The care homes operator has applied for permission to build a two-story nursing home on the land, currently a car park largely unused by Bombardier as the company has downsized considerably over the past two years.

According to The Sentinel, the new care home development will regenerate the redundant land with a two-storey nursing home built around a central courtyard garden. Once finished it is expected that it will create dozens of residential support worker jobs and other social care jobs, employing a total of 89 people to support the proposed 81 residents.

In their planning application, Keenrick Care Homes said that the site was ideally located for transport links and services. They say that their design addresses the "unique" position of the site, located on one of the major routes in and out of Crewe.

"The care home will be a much needed new facility for the local community and the town as a whole, while also providing some new employment opportunities," said the application.

A final decision on the planning application was deferred this week after councillors raised concerns over highway safety issues. Terry Beard, labour councillor for Crewe North, said "There are going to be a lot of elderly and vulnerable people living at this home and they will go out for walks to the local shops. I don't think the highway safety aspect of this is addressed enough in the application. There needs to be some sort of pelican crossing involved in the plans."