Concerns raised about green belt retirement homes

The proposed village was rejected by councillors in 2023

Concerns about a proposed retirement village on a former landfill site have been raised as a planning appeal continues.

The application for luxury senior living accommodation, proposed for green belt land near Vicarage Road, in Sunbury, was refused by Spelthorne Borough Council in October 2023.

The refusal was appealed by Inspired Villages, which hopes to build a village centre, a care home and 164 homes.

Ellen Pearce, head of planning for Inspired Villages, said the proposal would help meet "the growing need for specialist housing for older people in Spelthorne", and include an on-site medical facility.

Contaminated material has been found underneath the top layer of land on the former gravel extraction site, according to council documents.

The Environment Agency has also expressed concerns the development would disturb historic landfill, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

With only one GP surgery in Sunbury, and no dentists, residents and councillors fear the development will put extra pressure on already strained services.

Councillor Harry Boparai said: "Sunbury health care is bursting and [this development] is shipping elderly residents from other areas."

Benefits to communities

Campaigners against the proposal have also argued Spelthorne needs affordable housing for all and improved infrastructure, not bespoke senior living accommodation.

Hazel Osborn, a Sunbury resident, said: "Neither my family or anyone I know could afford the price of living there."

A ground floor two-bedroom apartment at one of Inspired Villages' sites in Hampshire costs £659,000, according to the company’s website.

The appeal, which opened on 18 September, is due to last eight weeks.

Ms Pearce said the company's existing villages "not only positively impact the residents and colleagues who work there, but also wider communities".

She said the company hoped the planning inspector would recognise "the benefits of the development and the need it is fulfilling".