A proposal to build a replacement for Agape House in Warwick has been submitted to the Department of Planning.

The application, submitted by architectural firm Lindberg and Simmons on behalf of the Friends of Hospice, proposes the construction of a new Agape House on “recently purchased” property on Spice Hill Road.

The property, known as Woodland Grove, is largely surrounded by woodland and agricultural reserve land, but the building itself is proposed for land zoned for residential use.

Drawings for the project show 20 bedrooms on the building’s lower floor as well as a kitchen and dining room, gym, salon and family room.

The building’s second floor will include another eight bedrooms as well as offices and several verandas overlooking the grounds.

Plans to replace the ageing Agape House in Paget have been discussed for several years.

Friends of Hospice and the Bermuda Hospitals Board announced in 2019 that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a purpose-built hospice on the BHB-owned Harbour Vista site on Berry Hill Road, Paget.

The new hospice, with equipment and furnishings, was estimated to cost $13.7 million with Friends of Hospice investing $1 million to be used as seed money for the project.

But this July, the Friends of Hospice announced that they would instead run the new hospice independently, with the charity to take over the management and operation of the new facility.

The charity said the change in approach had resulted in changes to the layout and location of the facility to help provide additional services to the community.

Alison Soares, the chairman of the Board of Friends of Hospice, said at the time: “While identifying ways to create a sustainable business model in a challenging economic environment we recognised that it was necessary to do things differently as we moved forward, we needed to be nimble and creative in our approach.

“It was an extremely difficult decision and not taken lightly, especially as we have been partners with BHB for more than 25 years.

“But timing is everything and it was decided now was the ideal time for this significant move.”