Work is to start in the summer on creating a 39-bedroom nursing home in Great Yarmouth by demolishing a former hotel building.

In a scheme costing more than £5m, Eversley Nursing Home in North Denes Road will be enlarged from a 18-bed facility to one with 39 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms.

The first stage of the project by Kingsley Healthcare will see the demolition of the former Arden Court Hotel to be replaced by care home facilities

The residents of Eversley will then be moved into the new building before the existing nursing home is knocked down.

Demolition work is expected to begin on the hotel in early summer with building working getting under way in the autumn.

The development will generate nearly 20 extra jobs, ranging from nurses and support workers to domestics.

Lowestoft-based Kingsley Healthcare, which owns Eversley, acquired the neighbouring Arden Court Hotel in a deal costing a substantial six-figure sum.

Operations manager Chris May said the constant, strong demand for places at Eversley, which specialises in palliative care, had shown the need for a larger home.

He said: “Eversley is very highly regarded.

“Our latest Care Quality Commission report rates us good overall and good in every category apart from the home’s leadership which is rated as outstanding

“With more beds available, we will continue to specialise in palliative care but be able to take more general nursing cases as well.”

He said the new home would have far more space with improved living areas and better storage.

Home manager Ewa Kujawa, said: “Residents and their families love the homely feel of Eversley as it is now, but the rooms are really quite small.

“The increased space of the new build will make it easier for us to offer the comfort will be especially important for families wanting to stay with their loved one 24/7 during end of life care.”

The care home scheme has been approved by Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s development control committee.

Kingsley Healthcare was founded in 1999 by chief executive officer Daya Thayan and his wife Sumi.