Historic Portsmouth care home set for co-living conversion
Plans to transform a historic former care home on Kingston Road into a co-living development have been given the green light by Portsmouth City Council.
Permission was granted in early November for the change of use of Bluewater Care Home, at 143–147 Kingston Road, marking the latest chapter in the long and varied history of the locally listed building.
The four-storey property, which most recently operated as a care home until closing in 2023, will now be converted into a co-living scheme aimed at working professionals.
While no major external alterations are proposed, the plans go into significant detail about how the building will function internally.
The development will include more than 50 furnished bedrooms spread across four floors, all with their own en-suite bathrooms and kitchenette facilities.
Room sizes range from just over 12 square metres to more than 30 square metres, exceeding typical minimum space standards for shared living accommodation.
Each floor will also include shared kitchens, dining spaces and laundry facilities, carefully zoned so residents are allocated specific communal areas. Several bedrooms will feature balconies overlooking a central enclosed courtyard.
Planning documents state the scheme intends to become a “self contained community” for professionals who desires to be “located in a sustainable part of the city”.
“It is anticipated that occupiers may be sourced from a specialist provider, with a variety of people from similar backgrounds, with similar needs, living together in harmony, whilst still able to maintain their independence – the NHS have expressed an interest.”
The building was opened in 1926 as Odd Fellows Hall, built by the Portsmouth District of the Independent Order of Oddfellows and quickly becoming a popular venue for live music, dancing and social events. In the 1960s it was known for jazz, rhythm and blues and its links to the city’s early mod scene.
After declining popularity, it later operated as the Hornpipe Arts Centre, hosting cinema, theatre and live performances, before becoming the Regal Palace nightclub in the 1990s. It closed around 2000, sat vacant for years, and reopened in 2014 as Bluewater Care Home.