February 2025 – A renowned Midlands health charity for patients with complex neurological conditions is set to sell an ageing part of one of its sites whilst creating a new community hub.
Castel Froma Neuro Care was founded in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire in 1874 and is one of only two centres of its kind in England, treating NHS patients from across the Midlands and further afield.
The charity is currently based in two properties at Lillington House and Helen Ley House, both in Leamington Spa, which between them care for scores of residents at any one time.
But part of Lillington House is more than a hundred years old, with regular structural problems and increasing maintenance costs.
This led the charity’s Board of Trustees to carry out a review of facilities late last year, which has resulted in today’s decision to sell the older part of Lillington House.
Castel Froma anticipates that the sale will help the charity in its creation of an exciting new ‘community hub’ in retained grounds at the Lillington House site, where patients living with neurological conditions and brain injuries can more easily access services.
Caroline Wilson, Chair of Castel Froma, explained the changes will help the charity continue to fulfil its mission statement by having both quality residential rooms for patients, whilst also increasing its positive impact in the wider community via the hub.
Ms Wilson said: “The older part of Lillington House is fast becoming unfit for purpose, with frequent lift breakdowns, leaking roof, heating and hot water system problems.
“To ensure the organisation continues to meet changing care needs, we have decided to offer the old building and a large part of the gardens at Lillington Road for sale on the open market.
“We plan to retain the more modern Princess Alice Wing on the site, along with the rear car park and stables area, and part of the gardens.
“We have recently added eight new ensuite bedrooms at Helen Ley House, which became operational last month, and this will help to compensate for any reduction in bed numbers at Lillington House.
“This demonstrates our ongoing commitment to a high-level of care for residents in up-to-date accommodation.
“It also means that selling the older part of Lillington House will have a minimal impact on capacity, and we do not envisage any redundancies or changes to job roles. To the contrary, this is an exciting time for all of our staff, especially with our plans for a new community hub.
“Some residents and staff have already transferred from Lillington House to Helen Ley House, and we have received positive feedback on how they are enjoying the more modern and inspiring property.
“We have additional exciting news about a planning application we have submitted to build a ‘community hub’ on the site of the old stables at Lillington House.
“This will create a welcoming hub where those with neurological conditions or acquired brain injury can more easily and clinically appropriately access our specialist services.
“How health care is delivered is rapidly changing. We want to make sure we offer the best places to meet the needs of residents for decades to come, ensuring we offer the NHS maximum value for money.”
Castel Froma has 215 staff including specialist nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, occupational and speech therapists, psychologists and other therapy and care professionals.
The charity provides specialist treatment, rehabilitation and comprehensive therapeutic facilities for people with brain injuries and conditions like multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s diseases.
