A former Dorchester care home is to be converted back into a family house.

The move, for the property on Prince of Wales Road, has been welcomed by ward councillors and the town council.

The building, 12 Prince of Wales Road, was previously the Bella Rose nursing home which closed in 2021 after suffering financially during the Covid pandemic.

The application, from the new owners, who live locally, includes the removal of single-storey buildings to the rear to increase the garden area and building a new garage to the side of the property.

Changes will also be made to a single-storey roof to improve the look of the building with three new roof windows to be fitted to the eastern aspect of the main roof.

The semi-detached property is believed to have been built in 1880 at the time the nearby Eldridge Pope brewery was under construction. The house became a nursing home in the mid-1980s and has seen a number of extensions built over the years to accommodate up to 12 residents, many older adults with learning difficulties.

Although the business was advertised for continual use as a care facility it failed to attract any potential buyers for the ongoing commercial use and Dorset adult social services raised no objection to the change of use.

Ward councillors Stella Jones and Molly Rennie said they would be happy to see the former residential business converted back to a family home, retaining the original frontage of the building, considered to be of architectural interest.

A planning officer report about the building said: "A late Victorian/Edwardian semi-detached dwelling, one of a number on the Prince of Wales Road which makes a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the Conservation Area – it is recognised as a locally important building."