A proposed new Coalville care home could exacerbate already "dangerous" parking conditions in a town street, a local councillor fears.

The comments come off the back of a renewed attempt to build the 36-bed home in Ashby Road.

Exemplar Healthcare wants to demolish several vacant business units in the busy road to create space for the centre.

The buildings slated to go include the historic home of the National Coal Board Mines Rescue Fire Station which served all Leicestershire coal mines in the 1960s and was most recently a Tiles 4 Less supplies store.

Planning officers at North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) rejected a similar scheme last year over fears it would be "unacceptable" and "obtrusive".

Early opposition to the new plan included concerns over the loss of the historic fire station, the importance of which Stuart Warburton, chairman of the Snibston Heritage Trust, said "cannot be overstressed".

Fresh worries have since emerged in the months since the application was registered with the council over the impact on parking in the area.

Local Leicestershire county councillor Craig Smith said there is "already a huge problem with on-street parking on Ashby Road", adding "at times" it can be "quite dangerous".

He said: "If adequate parking for a 36-bed care home is not provided then this will only exacerbate the issue."

Exemplar is proposing to include 30 parking spaces within the site, an increase on the 28 proposed in the previous plan and deemed unacceptable by officers, and eight bicycle spaces.

Coalville councillor Craig Smith. Photo: Supplied

However, Leicestershire County Council, as the local highways authority, disagrees with Coun Smith's conclusion.

Its highways officers said they felt the plan would "not be unacceptable" and the impacts on the roads would "not be severe".

The council has suggested a number of conditions be added to any approval of the scheme to mitigate possible side-effects on the road.

These include the new care home not being occupied until parking and cycle parking are in place.

This would "reduce the possibility of the proposed development leading to on-street parking problems locally", they said.

If approved, Exemplar's bid would see all the buildings flattened to make way for two linked blocks, the smaller of which will be for administrative purposes, while the larger building will hold 36 bedrooms for care home patients. The group, which runs a number of care homes, says there is "high demand" for care in Coalville and that demolishing the buildings would "maximise" the area.

NWLDC will make a decision on whether to approve or reject the scheme in due course, with their target decision date having already passed.