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Care & Extra Care
Care home developers work within one of the more demanding planning and regulatory environments in the built environment. CQC registration, Health Building Notes and Use Class C2 planning each carry design implications that need resolving early.
We work with care home developers across the full process: feasibility, planning, detailed design, construction and handover across projects such as residential care homes, dementia care units, extra care housing and retirement schemes.
Speak to our care home development team
What sets us apart in care home development
Care home development demands more than technical expertise. It requires disciplines to work together from the outset, with a shared understanding of the operational, regulatory and commercial realities that shape successful schemes.
At Morson Praxis, architecture, structural engineering, building services, commercial management and sustainability consultancy sit within a single integrated team. This joined-up approach reduces design risk, improves coordination and helps identify potential conflicts before they become costly programme delays.
Our teams bring extensive experience across care and extra care developments, combining technical knowledge with a practical understanding of regulatory requirements, operator expectations and resident needs. From CQC Fundamental Standards and Health Building Notes to the operational brief that underpins day-to-day care delivery, these considerations are embedded throughout the design process.
The result is a more coordinated route from concept to completion, helping operators, developers and investors deliver care environments that are compliant, efficient and designed to perform over the long term.
Integrated consultancy
One appointed consultant, every discipline you need
Our multi-disciplinary delivery model allows critical decisions to be considered in context rather than isolation. A floor plan influences staffing efficiency and operational workflows. Building services design supports compliance, resident wellbeing and day-to-day performance. Structural solutions affect future flexibility, maintenance requirements and asset longevity. By understanding these interdependencies from the outset, we help clients reduce risk, improve programme certainty and create care environments that remain effective throughout their lifecycle.
Planning & regulation
Knowing where the risks are
Care homes fall under Use Class C2, requiring a full planning application. There’s no permitted development route. Pre-application engagement is advisable. Planning Officers will often indicate their position before a formal submission, and resolving concerns at that stage is significantly cheaper than addressing a refusal. CQC Fundamental Standards carry clear design implications. Designing to HBN 08-02 from concept stage reduces the risk at registration
Design & project management
Built for the people who'll live there
A care home that meets every technical standard and still operates like an institution has failed its residents. Scale, light, operational flow and the domestic quality of the finish matter as much as compliance. Our architecture team brings direct experience of dementia-informed design and HAPPI principles. As Employer’s Agent, we manage the contract, monitor the programme, with CQC registration in view through to handover.
Care home development work in practice
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Understanding care home development
The answers below draw on direct project experience across residential care homes, nursing homes & extra care housing.
A full planning application is required for any new care home. Care homes fall under Use Class C2 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, with no permitted development route available. Supporting documentation typically includes a transport statement, acoustic assessment, flood risk assessment and, in some areas, a Care Needs Assessment. Pre-application engagement with the Local Planning Authority is advisable.
The key difference is the level of care and the degree of resident autonomy. A care home provides 24-hour personal or nursing care in a managed environment. Extra care housing offers self-contained accommodation with on-site care available, and residents retain considerably more independence. The two may fall under different planning use classes, with significant implications for funding and design.
CQC Fundamental Standards are a direct influence on care home design decisions. Operational flow, room sizing, assisted-care facilities and floor plan legibility are all scrutinised at registration. A building that doesn’t support safe, dignified care will surface that when inspected. Health Building Note HBN 08-02 is the sector’s primary design benchmark and is widely referenced by operators and CQC inspectors alike.
Health Building Notes are guidance documents published by NHS England setting out space, layout and performance standards for healthcare facilities. They are mandatory for NHS-funded construction but not a statutory requirement for privately developed care homes. In practice, most care operators reference them contractually regardless of funding source, and CQC inspectors treat HBN 08-02 as a benchmark at registration.
A Principal Designer is a statutory appointment under CDM 2015, required on any project involving more than one contractor. The role is responsible for coordinating health and safety across the pre-construction phase, ensuring hazards are resolved at design stage. Care home projects carry specific risks, including infection control, clinical waste management and maintaining operational building systems during future maintenance works.
Care home development is typically a three-to-four-year process from site acquisition to opening for a standard scheme. Construction alone takes 18 to 24 months on a consented site. Planning, design and CQC registration each add time. Complex sites, Green Belt locations and protracted planning processes extend that further. The registration timeline after practical completion depends partly on how the building performs at inspection.
