Plans for care home on orchard site rejected

Developer Aspire LLP said there was a "clear and growing unmet need" for such facilities in Borden

Plans for a care home which neighbours said would "ruin the tranquil character" of a Kent village have been rejected.

Officers at Swale Borough Council recommended the proposals for the 75-bed site in Borden Lane, Borden, were initially accepted, but the council's planning committee rejected them.

Developer Aspire LLP said there was a "clear and growing unmet need" for such facilities in the area.

But nearby resident, Ian Hunter, said the plans would "ruin the tranquil rural character we all value" in the village.

Ryan Nicholls, acting as a planning agent for the applicant, stressed to the committee: "The care home will create 40 full-time equivalent jobs. This is over and above the usual economic boost from development."

The site earmarked for the development was an apple orchard and about two-thirds of the plot would have been built on under the plans, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"The traditional orchard on site has been surveyed by a qualified ecologist and found to be in poor condition, having not been used as or managed as an orchard for quite some time," Mr Nicholls said.

But residents gave these arguments short shrift, with Borden parish councillor Lee Small stating that "the loss of two-thirds of a traditional orchard cannot be mitigated for".

The applicant has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.