Market Harborough Care Home Development Opportunity

Land at Great Bowden Road
Market Harborough, LE16 7DE

Offers are invited for the freehold interest of the site, subject to planning consent for an 80 bed care home.

An exceptional opportunity to deliver a purpose-built residential care home on a prominent site at Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough.

Muller Property Group is promoting the site to care home developers and operators for the delivery of a modern, 80-bedroom C2 care home, arranged over three storeys and designed to meet current and future standards of elderly and dementia care.

The opportunity is underpinned by a clear lack of modern, purpose-built care accommodation within the local market, particularly homes offering 100% en-suite provision and layouts capable of supporting dementia and complex care needs. The proposed scheme has been carefully conceived to deliver a high-quality, future-proofed care environment capable of attracting strong private-pay demand.

Development opportunity for a purpose-built 80-bed care home (use class C2), arranged over three storeys.

Highly sustainable location within the built-up area of Market Harborough, with excellent access to local services and facilities.

Positive Pre-Application Engagement with Harborough District Council, establishing a clear route towards a formal planning application.

Previously developed site offering an opportunity to regenerate and enhance an underutilised brownfield location.

Strong identified need for specialist older persons’ accommodation, with the emerging Local Plan identifying a requirement for 473 nursing care bedspaces.

Council officers consider that the principle of care home redevelopment could be supported, subject to detailed design, heritage and technical considerations.

Well-connected location with good accessibility by foot, cycle and bus, together with an established vehicular access offering good visibility.

Opportunity to deliver a high-quality, landscaped care environment with biodiversity enhancement, new planting and sustainable drainage.

Potential to deliver significant social and economic benefits through new specialist care provision, employment creation and investment in Market Harborough.

A Prime Gateway Location
in Market Harborough

The site occupies a strategic gateway position adjacent to Market Harborough railway station and within walking distance of the town centre, offering a rare combination of accessibility, regeneration potential, and compelling market fundamentals.

Market Harborough is an established and affluent market town in Leicestershire, approximately 14 miles south-east of Leicester, 16 miles north of Northampton, and 25 miles from Coventry.

Renowned for its historic town centre, strong retail offer, and high quality of life, Market Harborough has benefitted from sustained investment and regeneration in recent years, particularly around the railway station and the Welland Quarter.

The site is located on Great Bowden Road, at the junction with St Mary’s Road and Rockingham Road, forming a key arrival point into the town when approaching from the railway station or the A4304.

The surrounding area comprises a mix of heritage assets, retirement living, care homes, and regenerated residential schemes, reinforcing the site’s suitability for a care-led use.

The site benefits from excellent connectivity, making it highly accessible for residents, staff, and visitors.

The site occupies a highly sustainable location within the built-up area of Market Harborough, identified as a Sub-Regional Centre and focus for sustainable development.

The site is well located, with good accessibility by foot, cycle and bus, together with an existing access offering good visibility.

The town centre and local amenities are within a 10-minute walk, supporting sustainable travel and enhancing staff recruitment and retention.

Multiple local and regional bus routes operate within short walking distance of the site.

Market Harborough railway station is immediately adjacent, providing direct services to London St Pancras (approximately 1 hour) and Nottingham (approximately 40 minutes).

Direct access via Great Bowden Road, with the A4304 close by, linking to Leicester, Northampton, and the wider strategic road network.

A Well-Located Care Home
Development Opportunity

The site extends to approximately 1.6 acres (0.7 hectares) and is currently occupied by low-density, single-storey garage units.

It sits between Market Harborough railway station (Grade II listed) and the ruins of St Mary in Arden Church (Grade II listed and Scheduled Monument). Despite this sensitive context, the site itself is not within a conservation area and is well suited to redevelopment.

Surrounding uses include established care and retirement living developments, with building heights of up to five storeys, demonstrating a clear precedent for scale and massing.

The illustrative proposals comprise a purpose-built 80-bedroom care home arranged over three storeys, designed in line with best-practice principles for elderly and dementia care.

The current proposals provide an 80 bed care home arranged over three storeys, reducing to two storeys where appropriate in response to site levels and the surrounding heritage context.

The accommodation is intended to provide a high-quality environment capable of supporting 24-hour residential care, including dementia, complex health needs and end-of-life care.

The layout remains capable of refinement through the pre-application and planning process, providing an opportunity for the selected party to influence the specification in line with its operational requirements.

Positive Pre-Application Engagement with Harborough District Council

Detailed pre-application engagement has been undertaken with Harborough District Council. While the site’s employment allocation creates a policy consideration that will need to be addressed, the Council considers that a well-formed application is likely to be capable of demonstrating sufficient material considerations and benefits to enable support for the principle of a care home redevelopment, subject to detailed design, heritage and technical considerations.

Key features to the design:

Site area

1.6

acres

Proposed building GIA

4297

sqm

Storeys

Bedrooms

Total GIA per resident

53.7

sqm per resident

En suite wet rooms

100%

Car parking spaces

incl. 2 disabled

Communal dining rooms

Hair and beauty salon

Activity studio

Multi-use Cinema Room

Landscaped secure gardens and external terraces

The local care market is characterised by strong demographic demand and a shortage of modern supply.

We have assessed a 5-mile catchment from the subject site. Bed demand is forecast to increase from approximately 385 beds in 2026 to 431 beds by 2030, driven by population growth to around 47,700 residents. The proportion of residents aged 85+ — the cohort most closely linked to care demand — already exceeds the national average and is projected to reach 3.9% by 2030.

Despite existing and pipeline supply, there remains a shortfall of modern, en-suite accommodation, particularly homes capable of delivering dementia and higher acuity care. The market is therefore undersupplied in terms of contemporary, market-standard provision.

Socioeconomic indicators further strengthen the case, with above-average house prices and below-average reliance on pension credit and disability-related benefits, supporting a predominantly private-pay market.

Overall, the ageing demographic profile, undersupply of suitable stock and strong affluence fundamentals indicate robust and sustainable demand for a high-quality new care home in Market Harborough.

47,700

population in catchment area by 2030

385

current care bed demand in 2026

431

care bed demand in catchment area by 2030

+3.9%

population aged 85+ by 2030 (above national average)

5.2%

pension credit claimants
(below national average)

8.8%

disability allowance aged 65+ (below national average)

+20%

house prices above national average

120

undersupply of market standard wet room beds by 2030

Site Acquisition & Legal Considerations

Process

The site is for sale via informal tender. Offers are invited for the Freehold of the site with vacant possession. Muller Property Group is under no obligation to accept the highest or any offer for the site.

Costs

Each party is to be responsible for their own legal costs, surveyor’s fees and any other costs incurred in the transaction.

Viewings

Viewing of the site is available by roadside inspection at any time. On site access can be arranged by prior notice through Muller Property Group.

VAT

Land at Great Bowden Road has been elected for VAT which will be chargeable on the sale price.

Additional Information

A Data Room is available on request, including indicative designs and relevant legal information. Please contact Muller Property Group for access and further information.

Technical Information & Assumptions

Muller Property Group will obtain planning permission for the scheme which will be for all matters of design, layout, floorplans, external works, materials, finishes and specifications, with only landscaping reserved for later approval.

For further information or to discuss development or operator opportunities:

Julie Doherty
Managing Director – Care

E: jad@muller-property.co.uk
T: 01270 824265

Disclaimer

Muller Property Group for themselves and for the vendors or lessors of this property, give notice that;

a. The particulars are set out as a general outline only for guidance and do not constitute, nor constitute part of, an offer or contract.

b. All descriptions, dimensions, references to condition and necessary permissions for use and occupation, and other details are believed to be correct, but any intending purchasers, tenants or third parties should not rely on them as statements or representations of fact but satisfy themselves that they are correct by inspection or otherwise.

c. No person in the employment of Muller has any authority to make or give any representation or warranty whatever in relation to the property.

d. Any images may be computer generated. Any photographs show only certain parts of the property as they appeared at the time they were taken.