Plans to convert a shuttered Paget school into a seniors daycare facility got the green light last week from the Development Applications Board.

While the proposal prompted two letters of concern, chiefly about the use of agricultural land, a technical officer with the planning department recommended that it be approved, calling it “an effective adaptive reuse of an existing superfluous institutional structure”.

The project was formally approved by the DAB on Wednesday.

Tinée Furbert, the Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, said last month it was hoped that work at the former Gilbert Institute would begin by September so that it can be up and running in 2028.

According to planning documents, the school would be converted into a government-subsidised daycare facility for seniors with dementia, offering care for up to 50 clients.

The facility would offer a variety of support services that would help to improve the quality of life and reduce social isolation among seniors, while bringing down the financial, physical and emotional strain on caregivers.

The plans proposed renovations to the school building to create five activity rooms along with a courtyard and other amenities, including dedicated clinical areas, multiple dining spaces and administrative offices.

Along with internal renovations, the project includes the creation of a single-storey addition linking two buildings on the property.

The facility would feature two outdoor garden areas including a sensory or memory garden and a community garden with fruit trees, vegetable and herb garden beds, and bird feeders.

In a report prepared for the DAB, a technical officer wrote that the design was fit for purpose, with adequate facilities, open spaces and bespoke recreational spaces for the intended users.

The report also noted that proposed parking exceeded the minimum requirement and the proposed location of the parking area on what was a recreational field was appropriate, noting that three quarters of the field would remain available for recreational use.

It said that the Department of Planning received letters of concern regarding the use of land zoned for agriculture on the southern portion of the property, suggesting another area of the property could be rezoned to make up for the loss.

However, the technical officer wrote that the department did not feel it necessary to require another portion of the property to be rezoned as agricultural reserve.

The report said: “It is acknowledged that while the AR would not entirely be used for traditional/intensive food production, given that it has not been actively farmed for approximately 45 years, returning any portion of this area to food production is a positive first step.

“The garden will incorporate fruit trees, vegetables and herbs. Over the course of time, additional landscaped areas may be converted to food production.”

According to the minutes of the most recent meeting of the DAB, the plans were approved, with a technical officer confirming that the facility is expected to employ between 37 and 43 full-time staff members.

The Gilbert Institute was closed last June, despite protests, as part of the Government’s education reform initiative. David Burt, the Premier, announced in January 2025 that plans were under way to convert the facility into a daycare for seniors.