Garage to be replaced by retirement development

Developers claim the retirement housing is "much needed"

Plans to build more than 70 new retirement homes on the site of a garage forecourt site have been approved.

Under the plans, the TC Harrison Ford Garage in Cambridge Street, St Neots, would be demolished.

An inquiry into the development was held earlier this month after Huntingdonshire District Council failed to make a decision in time.

People in the area previously raised concerns about the height of the development.

As part of the plans the Ford garage on Cambridge Street will be demolished

It will be made up of 57 flats, 16 cottages and communal facilities.

The developer said the country had a "rapidly growing and ageing population" and that its plans would offer "much needed retirement living apartments".

One objector raised concerns that the new housing would "seek to dominate" the street due to its height.

The application was approved by a planning inspector after the developer submitted an appeal, due to Huntingdonshire District Council not issuing a decision in time, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The inspector considered the concerns raised about the impact of the development on neighbours and nearby heritage buildings, but decided the new homes would not be harmful.