Draft Local Plan-Part 2 Site Allocations

Object

Representation ID: 22144

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Cygnet Care Ltd

Agent: CODE Development Planners Ltd

To assist the authorities in meeting the need for new specialist housing over the plan period, the following site (GNLP0280) on land to the south of Bungay Road, Poringland is submitted for consideration as an allocation within the emerging GNLP (please see the submitted site location plan) for a Use Class C2 facility including a care home and extra care bungalows. Please note, the site has previously been submitted for consideration for the development of 40 residential dwellings. This was before our client’s involvement.

The site is located, as shown on the appended site location plan, to the south east of the village, on the B1332/Bungay Road, which runs from Norwich to Bungay. The existing site use comprises two detached dwellings, garden outbuildings and garages and a 25 bed care home run by the Applicant (Cresta Lodge Care Home). To the rear of the properties are horse paddocks with a stable block. The site is 2.66ha in size. The existing Cresta Lodge home is located in a bungalow on site that has been extended over the years. The home enjoys almost 100% occupancy throughout the year; however, the building is now becoming unfit for the future with small bedrooms, some without en-suites, small bathrooms and limited communal and social space. There is therefore a need to redevelop the home with a more modern facility in order to provide future residents with the necessary quality of accommodation our elderly population deserve. To do nothing here is not an option because the accommodation would become increasingly challenged and the quality of life for residents would inevitably diminish. If no further development took place on site there would be a further 25 bed reduction in care home accommodation in South Norfolk and the GNLP area.

The proposals will be designed to respect the existing character of this part of Poringland and make a positive contribution to the built environment in this location. With appropriate landscape mitigation, the adverse impacts on users of the Public Right of Way (PRoW) to the south east of the site could be minimised. The scheme can also provide extensive social, economic and environmental benefits, as follows: • It will help to fulfil the significant unmet demand and need for this type of care accommodation, representing the chance to deliver accommodation which will enable elderly people to stay in their own homes for longer, thereby maintaining their independence; • In accordance with Cygnet Care Ltd’s vision for the accommodation, there is an opportunity to create an environment where preventative measures to reduce ill health, promote active ageing and allow older people the enjoyment of a more fulfilled life in their elderly years; • The development of the site would provide a real choice for older people to maintain their independence with likeminded individuals, whilst receiving care with dignity within the privacy of their own accommodation; • Community facilities on site (to be determined) will be available on a membership basis to other members of the Poringland community thereby helping to integrate the new development and its residents with the existing village and affording residents further protection from any isolation and loneliness impacts often felt by the elderly; and • The potential to contribute towards the release of existing housing stock, widening choice and opportunity within the general open market; particularly family housing. • The creation of new jobs both during and after construction, particularly in the field of providing care. The likely jobs arising on-site would be management, technical, administrative, care/nursing, catering and housekeeping positions. There is also a potential for ‘knock on’ employment opportunities, for example, during construction and through associated services and facilities to support the on-going operation of the home; and • The development will support existing local facilities, including shops and services in close proximity to the site, through increased spending generated by the residents, who have easy access into the village centre of Poringland. • Biodiversity of the site will be protected, diversified and improved through new hedgerow and tree planting and hedgerow management. The proposals offer an opportunity to achieve an overall net gain in biodiversity; The proposals would therefore deliver a sustainable form of development, providing social, economic and environmental benefits in accordance with the overarching principles of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The site is considered to be appropriate for sustainable development and its development would not result in any harm to interests of acknowledged importance.

In accordance with paragraph 35 of the Framework, the regulation 18(c) version of the GNLP (with regard to the provision of specialist accommodation for older people) is not positively prepared (as the local plan does not seek to meet, as a minimum, the need for this type of accommodation) and is not effective. However, as detailed within these representations, measures can be taken by the local planning authorities to ensure that suitable schemes can come forward beyond existing settlement boundaries (subject to being sustainably located with any impacts upon existing character and appearance being appropriately mitigated) and making formal allocations for specialist accommodation within the local plan (including the site to the south of Bungay Road, Poringland).