Consultation over future of Sandye Place site is now open

And Central Bedfordshire Council wants your thoughts about plans for a new care home on the Sandye Place site – and your ideas on what it should do with the rest of the land.

The council hopes to build a new £19million care home on the land to replace the current council-run Allison House residential home.

It says this would ‘future-proof’ the supply of care home places in the area, and added: “The new care home could also include other community facilities that the public have previously suggested the site could be used for, such as a community space and café facilities open to the public.”

Meanwhile, it also wants suggestions for the rest of the site – which could include transferring the asset to the community or leasing it to a group for an agreed amount, reviewing community suggestions for the land, giving the community the right to bid for the site, or opening up the opportunity to sell the land to any of the mentioned groups, or others interested in buying it.

It has not ruled out the possibility of housing on the land.

Central Bedfordshire Council is currently spending £100,000 a year on security and maintenance of the former Sandye Palace Academy site, with an additional spend to prevent deterioration of the listed buildings. The site is highly valued locally and has been used for a number of events both during the time it operated as a school and more recently to host the Sandy Carnival, Coronation celebrations and other ad-hoc events.

Sandy youth club also operates from a dedicated building on the site. Cllr Steve Watkins, executive member for assets at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “We are now consulting with the community, and others, to decide what will happen next to the former Sandye Place Academy site. “This is everyone’s opportunity to have their say on what they want to see on the former Sandye Place Academy site, which is feasible, financially viable and benefits the local community. The site has been listed as an ‘Asset of Community Value’, so potentially the community can have the opportunity to bid to purchase it. Together, we can use this time to come up with the best plan for the currently inactive site that will benefit and add value locally. I encourage everyone from Allison House, the town council, to every resident in Sandy and the surrounding area to let us know what you want to happen next to the former Sandy Place Academy site.”

Speaking in March, Sandy mayor Cllr Joanna Hewitt, said it was “vitally important” that people take part in the consultation – and added that the town council’s priority was securing it as a green space for residents.

The consultation is available online – and will close on July 8. The council would then expect to make a decision on December 2.

There will also be drop-in sessions both in person and online scheduled throughout the consultation period, including a stall at the Sandy Carnival on Saturday, June 14.