Angry residents battling plans to replace two houses with a 60-bed dementia care home likened the plan to having a “small hospital” dumped on their doorsteps.

Families in Rednal Road, Kings Norton, told Birmingham City Council’s planning committee that the street was totally unsuitable for the proposed two-storey development.

Neighbour Richard Simpson said: “This is not a little care home, it is more like a small hospital with 60 beds and staff.

“It has all the effects of that kind of business.”

He warned that anybody visiting would not be able to park and said that, as a suburban area, the street was not suited to a large care home.

Developers want to demolish two large detached houses to make way for the care home, for residents at all stages of dementia.

Mike Forrester, speaking on behalf of the project, said the building would be “domestic in character” and around 14 visits a day were expected.

It was also pointed out the facility would create 40 jobs, with 20 staff on duty during the day and five overnight.

But planning committee members were sceptical and voted to visit the site before coming to a decision.

Coun Peter Griffiths (Lab, Kings Norton) said: “The idea there will not be an increase in usage of the road is nonsense.”

He said there would be several shift changes a day and night for staff, visits from families, GPs, other visiting health staff and even workers like hairdressers.

Coun James Hutchings (Con, Edgbaston) also raised questions about why the demolition of two “good-looking” family houses had been proposed.

Objectors claimed there was a restrictive covenant on the site barring commercial use.

But they were told that assertion would need to be challenged outside the planning process.