The plans for a care home on Copenhagen Drive, along with outline planning permission for homes to be built later, came to the vote this evening.
The planning application was brought before the Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) planning committee this evening because Abingdon Town Council objected. Otherwise it would have been approved behind closed doors.
Two councillors and a local resident spoke against the plans, and the developer spoke for the plans. The resident expressed concerns about potential flooding. He cited the recent flooding at Larkmead School which he had traced back to the ditch nearby the development.
Concerns were also raised about the availability of GPs and dental services in the area. The Long Furlong Medical Centre had objected to the plans, but the local commissioning board did not.
Noise from the nearby A34 was another worry. However, the care home would have noise-reducing glass.
One councillor questioned the suitability of putting a care home in a place that he described as ‘out on a limb,’ away from local facilities.
There was also debate about whether a new care home was necessary, given the number of care homes in Abingdon. One councillor tried to argue that the local plan intended residential development and didn’t intend more care homes, but the council officer said the a care home counted as residential.
Some Abingdon councillors voted against the proposal, but the planning application was approved by a majority vote.
I am pleased to hear that the Abingdon Councillors did their best on this. It has been dispiriting in the past when they have spoken up against a proposal but when it came to it, voted in favour “with a heavy heart”.
Apart from all the other concerns raised I also noted that the houses here will mean that the North Abingdon developments exceed the numbers in the Local Plan – that provided for 200 houses at that end of town and that target was met by the Kingsgate development. While I absolutely support the need for new homes, it can’t be right to cram them in on sites which are evidently unsuitable and where few of us would want to live.