Council rejects plans to build retirement complex

An appeal to build a retirement complex with 86 flats on the edge of a town has been refused by a council due to its "urbanising effect".

Huntingdonshire District Council rejected the proposal for the site put forward by Gladman Retirement Living, which would house people aged over 65 on the edge of St Ives, Cambridgeshire.

The company said it wanted to create an "attractive and safe community for the elderly" and has launched an appeal against the decision.

K Savage, from the Planning Inspectorate, said the development "would have a clear, urbanising effect" and would be a "wholesale change from the open, undeveloped and natural character which exists".

Communal facilities, including a coffee bar, restaurant and a hair salon were proposed as part of the plans, alongside staff facilities to allow for 24-hour care support.

Savage said the buildings, which would sit at the edge of a man-made lake used by Hunts Sailing Club, would have a "dominant and imposing presence" for lake users.

The proposal was objected to by 48 members of the public, parish councillors, council officers and other parties, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Savage said the town centre would not be easily accessible on foot from the location, "particularly for those less physically able or using mobility vehicles".

Concerns about the potential development included fears over noise coming from the site and the effects on the wind at the nearby sailing club.

Savage added that the proposal would provide housing at a time when the council "is falling short of delivering the required number of homes overall" but would cause "landscape harm".

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