Seabrook College and Priory House to become dementia care home

An application was approved which will see the former Seabrook College and the existing Priory House care home in Westcliff combined and replaced with a new home dedicated to supporting people with dementia.

Seabrook College was a specialist pupil referral unit, with 44 children aged between 11 and 16.

Many were excluded from schools across the borough because of behaviour problems.

This facility has been transferred to the former Cecil Jones College Lower School on Wentworth Road, which was recently refurbished to contain two academy schools that will help the borough’s most vulnerable children and those with special educational needs in a dual unit.

The new dementia care home will be two storeys and include 60 bedrooms, a landscaped garden and office space.

It will also include parking spaces for cars, minibuses, and motorcycles.

The closure of the current Priory House care home will be done in two phases, allowing new facilities to be built and become operational before people are moved.

Southend Council’s development committee chairman David Garston praised the application, calling it “not only good for the ward and the area but a very, very good proposal”.

Councillor Anne Jones said: “The way this has been set out for the residents and for the people that visit there, it is a wonderful opportunity to make the way that we care for people in this town different so I’m happy to support it.”

Their comments were backed by the other members of the committee who voted unanimously to grant planning permission.

The dementia care home will fulfil a growing need in the community as the population increases, the lifespan of people increases and with these the number of people suffering from dementia.

The scheme was mainly applauded because the moves mean a better future, education and opportunities for the young people previously at the college and a better future for those at the other end of their journey who are suffering from dementia.