A former care home on the edge of Dartmoor that was due to be turned into holiday lets is to reopen as a retirement facility.

Joel and Nicola Buckley and Alistair and Heather Whitmore-Pryer completed their purchase of Tracey House in Bovey Tracey earlier this month. They plan to reopen the property as a residential care home later this year.

The new owners are now busy completed the necessary updates to furniture, catering equipment, laundry facilities, fire safety systems and electric checks and are beginning to recruit a new staff team. They will be holding an open day on November 1, with a view to the first residents moving in before Christmas.

They Buckleys already operate two care homes in the area: Tudor Court in Paignton and Furzeham Lodge in Brixham.

‘The location is phenomenal,’ Joel said. ‘You go through the gates and it’s just incredibly peaceful.’

Tracey House on Haytor Road closed in 2023. Its owners at the time, Jo and George Zakrezewski, had run the 23-bed care home for 40 years. They had initially tried to sell the business as a going concern prior to retiring. With no interest from buyers, the couple tried to carry on, but problems with staff recruitment, sickness issues and the economic crisis, made it too difficult for them to continue.

The pair then applied for planning permission to convert the holiday home into holiday lets However, they met with stiff opposition as locals raised concerns about highway safety, increased traffic and the need for permanent homes for local residents rather than tourist accommodation and the plans were thrown out.

Tracey House ‘needed to be a residential care home again and we are well-placed to do that’, Joel commented.

Tracey House was sold for an undisclosed price.