Crunch time is looming for plans to build a care home on the site of the New City College in Ardleigh Green.

The proposal - to construct an 87-room facility - will be decided upon at a meeting of the council's strategic planning committee on Thursday (October 7).

This application is one of a series linked to a wider overhaul of the Ardleigh Green campus.

The college, as part of an overall masterplan, wishes to construct of a new multimillion pound facility for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

To fund this, it has identified parts of the campus which it says are underused and can be sold.

One site is the former college car park; plans to relocate it and free up the land off Nelmes Way for the three-storey care home were approved in July.

That is also the intended site for three self-build detached homes, plans for which are contained in a separation application.

The 87-room facility would include 24 dementia suites and would be accessible from the existing route off Nelmes Way.

It would also have communal facilities such as a village hall, garden room, café, restaurant, bistro, family room and salon/therapy rooms.

It's estimated that up to 100 jobs - 70 full time and 30 part time - would be created should the proposal go ahead.

The care home would be about 23 metres from the adjacent housing on Russets.

It would range from between 12.4m and 13.8m in height across the three storeys.

Nine objections have been made against the development.

They were received after 47 consultation letters had been sent to neighbouring properties, and centre around a range of issues such as how the care home would impact traffic in the local area.

Concerns about the revised parking facilities at the college were also expressed.