A care home near Ely that was converted into a boarding house for farm workers could soon become a care home again, after the owners submitted new plans to East Cambridgeshire District Council.

Sri Ratnasinkam has applied to change the use of the former Fenland Lodge care home, on the A142 Soham Road, into temporary accommodation for the Disabilities Trust.

According to agents acting for Mr Ratnasinkam, the trust approached him and asked to rent the premises for a 14-month period while its current facilities, in Ely’s Lynn Road, undergo a refurbishment.

The agents told council planners: “As this property is set up as a nursing home and as yet has not undergone any internal alterations it meets their needs and is close to the existing unit they have.

“They will carry out any alterations to the rooms they will be using and this will involve removing the baths and converting the bathrooms to wet rooms to better suit the needs of their patients.

“Their current building is in need of updating and repair and it is not possible for them to continue to operate as they do with work going on around them and with disruption to services, electrical, waste and water.

“Therefore they need to vacate their building in order for these works to be undertaken. Fenland Lodge offers a good resource for them to utilise.”

Back in August, Mr Ratnasinkam won planning permission from the council to convert the home into lodgings for farm workers after he was contacted by a farmer keen on renting the property.

Shortly after he first bought the building, in April 2013, Mr Ratnasinkam submitted plans to convert the home into a residential development of 24 apartments, but the application was rejected.