Fordham retirement homes on land off Station Road refused

Councillors at East Cambridgeshire District Council refused to give permission to SageHaus Living to build the bungalows on land off Station Road.

Concerns were raised about the affordability of the proposed homes and whether there was actually a need for them in the area.

Planning officers had recommended the application to build the retirement homes for approval.

They said there was a need in the area for retirement homes adding that the development could potentially help some people in the area to downsize and free up other homes in the village.

(Image: SageHaus Living) The bungalows were proposed to be a mix of two and three-bedrooms in size. An on site community building was also planned.

Three of the homes were proposed to be affordable housing and sold at 80 per cent off the market value.

Officers recognised policy requirements said there should be eight affordable homes, but explained a viability assessment had concluded this would not be possible.

However, they said a review mechanism was proposed to see if more affordable homes could be viable as the development progressed.

Dr Stephen Ladyman, a representative of the developer, told councillors at a planning committee on November 6 that reports had shown there was a “clear shortfall” of retirement housing in the area.

(Image: SageHaus Living) He said the proposed homes would be sold on an age restricted basis, and would offer somewhere for older people to live independently, but with support available when needed.

However, one of the council representatives for the area, Councillor Julia Huffer, disputed the assertion that there was need for the proposed retirement homes.

She said there were at least two other sites in the area offering bungalows for older people.

Planning officers said the homes on the sites highlighted by Cllr Huffer were not the same as those proposed by SageHaus Living, and said they considered a need had been identified.

Cllr Huffer also argued it was “unacceptable” that the development was proposed to offer under the policy requirement for affordable homes.

She added that the homes were proposed to be built outside the village envelope, which she said went against the village neighbourhood plan.

Cllr Huffer branded the development a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and questioned the affordability of the homes for older people, as she said they had been told they could be sold for more than £300,000.

Some of the councillors on the planning committee said they shared Cllr Huffer’s concerns.

Councillor Gareth Wilson said: “This scheme seems to me not to be anything different from market housing outside the village envelope.

“If we have a village who goes to the trouble of getting themselves a plan, then we as planning committee ought to be supporting it. If this is outside village envelope it ought to be 100 per cent affordable.”

Councillor Bill Hunt said the size of the proposed gardens was in his view “inadequate” and argued the proposals would be an “overdevelopment” of the site, which he said could impact on the character of the area.

However, Councillor Christine Ambrose Smith said the application may not be “the best in the world”, but she said she thought it was “adequate”.

When put to a vote the majority of councillors voted to refuse the plans.