A FORMER day centre looks set to be demolished to make way for affordable housing under new plans.

The plans would see the former Touchstone Day Centre in Geraldine Road in Malvern knocked down and replaced with 37 affordable homes.

The day centre closed in 2016 and has remained empty after services were transferred to the Malvern Cube.

Affordable housing providers Keon Homes and Platform Housing have put forward plans that would see a mix of one-bed flats and two-to-four-bed homes built including homes available for affordable rent and shared ownership.

A total of 58 parking spaces would also be provided for the homes which would be built near to Malvern Hills Science Park, Malvern College’s playing fields and the town’s Chase school.

The building has been empty for a number of years and is no longer needed by Worcestershire County Council.

A statement included with the application said: “In this case it has been established by the county council, who ran and owned the site, that the use and buildings were no longer required and therefore they could not be considered to be operationally viable.

“The proposal provides for a wholly affordable housing scheme. The predominant land use in the vicinity is residential and therefore the proposal would integrate well with its established context.

“The remaining buildings at the application site were specifically designed to provide facilities to meet the requirements of some 40 years ago and circumstances have changed significantly since.

“As a result the buildings are redundant and no longer suitable for the specific purposes for which they were originally designed [and] as a consequence the only alternative is for the site to be redeveloped for the best possible alternative use.

“By providing a wholly affordable scheme will ensure the maximum social benefits accrue from the proposal, giving obvious benefits to the wider community and ensuring the site continues to have a social role, as was the case with the original community building.”

The plans can be viewed via the planning section of Malvern Hills District Council’s website.

The application number is 21/01513/FUL and public consultation ends on October 8.