PLANS to improve a Bovey Tracey care home have won support from town councillors, who welcomed environmental measures including the installation of at least three swift boxes.

Bovey Tracey Town Council’s planning committee resolved to make no objection to proposals for Tracey House Retirement Home, which could undergo a major programme of improvements to provide additional bedrooms, better communal facilities and improved accessibility.

The plans, submitted to Teignbridge Council, aim to bring more of the existing building complex into use as a care home, with additional en-suite bedrooms and improved connections between the north wing, central wing, main house and bungalow.

Accessibility is a key part of the scheme, with proposals including gentle ramps and sheltered routes around the site to help residents move more easily between different parts of the complex.

Fire safety would also be strengthened through protected stairways, alongside clearer escape routes.

Residents could benefit from improved access to the home's gardens, with plans including private terraces and communal outdoor dining areas.

Tracey House closed in April 2023, before a subsequent planning application sought permission to change the property's use to holiday accommodation.

That application was refused, and an appeal against the decision was dismissed in September 2025.

The home has since reopened.

According to the application's design and access statement, the latest proposals are intended to support the home's current operation by making better use of the existing complex and investing in its long-term future.

The statement describes the scheme as a ‘positive investment in this valued local service’, adding that it would allow more of the existing buildings to be brought into active use.

It also says the proposals respond to the site's previous planning history by supporting its continued community use and adapting the buildings to meet modern care needs.

Teignbridge Council is expected to make a decision on the application by November 16.

To view the plans in full, and to comment on the application, visit the council’s planning portal and enter ‘26/01395/FUL’ into the search-box.