Plans have been lodged to transform a disused north Norfolk care home with a troubled past into 35 homes.
Pine Heath Care Home in High Kelling operated from the early 1990s until 2017.
The care home has a troubled past, including the death of a 95-year-old woman due to hypothermia and pneumonia in 2016 when the home's boilers failed.
The owner and manager of the care home at the time were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross neglect, but no criminal proceedings followed.
Pine Heath then closed suddenly in May 2017 after it was placed in special measures after being rated inadequate in a damning report by the CQC.
It was originally built in 1911 as a sanatorium for children recovering from tuberculosis.
The plans, put forward by Ash Properties Limited, propose converting the care facility into three one-bedroom homes, two semi-detached two-bedroom homes, eight one-bed and two-bed homes and two three-bed homes.
The bungalows on the site will also be turned into ten one-bedroom and two two-bedroom homes.
it is said it could still be a viable care home site.
READ MORE: Woman, 95, died after condemned boilers in Norfolk care home failed
A planning document submitted to North Norfolk District Council says: “Pine Heath has an unfortunate back history which makes the location and current name unattractive to a potential bidder.
“This can readily be researched via an internet search of the name, and it’s not the purpose of this report to address this matter in detail.
“However, any new operator would need to undergo a full rebranding and marketing exercise to attract new residents to make the care home viable and profitable."
The firm behind the care home had been fined £81,000 for putting its residents at significant risk of avoidable harm when both its boilers broke down.
Diamond Care (UK) Limited was sentenced at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court in September 2021.
The prosecution was brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The site had also been investigated for a serious breach of data protection when dozens of confidential patient records, staff notes and sensitive files were found in the derelict care home.
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