A 40-bed brain injury rehab unit is planned near Coopers Company & Coborn School in Upminster. It is for a much-needed facility.
Ceres Property created the plans for Enable Care, aiming to provide rehab in a home-like environment where expert staff support all residents. The unit is designed to feel like a real home. It includes a wellness garden to aid neuro rehab, featuring an ecology pond, a drop-off bay, and parking.
Buildings are arranged around a courtyard in groups of three, each with two floors: one above ground and one underground. This design limits the visual impact of the facility.
Ceres Property argues that this center is needed due to a shortage of brain injury units, both locally and nationally. When units lack space, people often must live far from home. Younger individuals may end up in nursing homes when they deserve proper care.
The land, located north of the school fields, was previously an industrial site with warehouses. Past plans for a brain injury unit on this site failed, with appeals dismissed dating back to 2017.
Enable Care considered other sites, including Victoria Hospital, Tadworth Parade, and Rainham Road South, before deciding on this location.