Care complex plans approved despite objections

CGI illustration of the proposed care home in Long Buckby

Plans to build a care complex have been approved by a council despite objections.

The new facility aims to support elderly people and children, aged five to 18, with special needs and will have staff available for one-to-one care.

It is set to be built on a vacant piece of land in Long Bucky, Northamptonshire, near the railway station and to the south of Bakers Lane.

The applicant, Just Pubs Ltd, said the site would create 80 full-time equivalent jobs in total.

People complained that the care facility would be too close to homes on Moore Close and could cause parking issues for existing residents.

The complex will have 68 beds, 17 extra care units, 46 parking spaces, with 27 parking bays intended for the care home and a further 19 spaces for the care units.

The two-and-a-half-story elderly persons’ care home will be on the east of the site, and the one-bed assisted living bungalows will be separated to the west.

A total of 27 letters of objection raised concerns about the amount of parking, the potential impact on local medical services and roads.

Malcolm Sniders, chair of the Buckby Meadows Residents' Association, told the West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) planning hearing: “The key concern relates to parking provision, both on and off-site.

"The staff required to support these 85 people, plus their visitors, will surely require more than the 46 spaces despite the views of the applicant."

Just Pubs Ltd says the development is ‘much-needed’ in Long Buckby.

Daniel Lister, a ward councillor for the area, also raised concerns people were already parking “nefariously” on the surrounding street rather than in the nearby train station car park.

A resident of Moore Close, which backs on to the proposed site, said: “The scale of the main care home building is vast in comparison to any of the properties neighbouring the site.

"I still think the proposed development, even having moved the main building, represents a loss of light to those homes and a loss of privacy as well.”

A Just Pubs Ltd representative said permissions were previously granted on appeal for an almost ‘identical’ scheme and that no concerns around parking were raised.

The plans were approved by councillors on 6 November.