Council rejects care home plan next to Premier Inn

Shropshire Council planning officers say the location of the site, on Maes-Y-Clawdd Industrial Estate in Oswestry, renders it unsuitable for residential use and that it should instead be developed for industrial use.

The applicant, UV Care Oswestry Ltd, had said the new facility would help to address local demand for care home beds and create up to 70 jobs.

The care home was to be built over three storeys and incorporate a hair salon and cinema alongside 70 bedrooms and communal areas, with two assisted living blocks containing six apartments each also included in the plans.

The plot of land lies between the Premier Inn and OK Diner, and is allocated for employment use in the council’s development plan.

A report by planning officer Mark Perry says: “It is recognised that the proposed development will provide substantial employment on what is an allocated employment site which will provide some economic benefit to the area.

“There will also be a social benefit by the provision of additional accommodation for the elderly.

“However, it is considered that these benefits are outweighed by the harm caused to future residents because of the noise and activity that could be generated by neighbouring land uses.

“There is also the impact that having living accommodation nearby would have on the businesses that surround the site, who could have their business activities constrained in order to protect the amenities of the care home residents.”

The report goes on to say that allowing a care home – which could be built elsewhere – to occupy the site would effectively mean the loss of dedicated land for industrial use.

It says the applicant would be required to prove the site was no longer suitable for its allocated purpose, but that “no such evidence has been submitted”.

The council’s public protection team said all but six of the bedrooms would be impacted by unacceptable noise levels unless windows were kept closed at all times.

However Oswestry Town Council was supportive of the scheme, and there were no public objections.