Warminster Town Councils’ Planning Advisory Committee has voted unanimously at their meeting on Monday 23rd January, to object to plans for a 62-bed care home on land north of Grovelands Way.
Councillor Phil Keeble, Chair of the committee, stated that whilst there was some sympathy for the scheme, he still proposed an objection for the following reasons:
“The scheme that gained outline approval in 2018 was for a 48-bed, two storey facility that formed part of a Continuing Care Retirement Community and only gained approval as an ‘Exception Site’ as the location fell outside the town development boundary and would meet a specific need. The application now seeking detailed consent is for a larger 62-bed, three storey facility that is literally shoehorned into the site leaving little outdoor amenity space for residents or utility space for car parking, goods deliveries, refuse storage and collection, ambulances etc.”
“The 33% increase in occupancy will also lead to increased traffic movements of residents, visitors, deliveries, and staff.”
“The building is designed with all the plant and services such as kitchen and laundry on the top floor leading to concerns of effect of noise and vibration to residents below and noise breakout to the local area. Additionally, the height of a 3-storey building is considered out of keeping with the surrounding neighbourhood and made worse by the ground levels already having been raised out of the floodplain by 500mm.”
“Further, as this care home is the only element of the Continuing Care Retirement Community actively being pursued modification to the application was required to demonstrate that this care home would continue to form part of a Continuing Care Retirement Community as approved at outline consent.”
Last modified: 25 January 2023
