Developer bids to convert care home into housing

SIXTEEN new homes could be built on the derelict Chilterns End care home site in Henley.

Nicholas King New Homes has submitted a planning application to South Oxfordshire District Council to demolish all existing buildings to make way for new housing.

Chilterns End was closed in 2016 when it moved to the new 64-bed Chilterns Court care centre next to Townlands Memorial Hospital.

The site, which has been derelict ever since, was allocated 27 homes in the joint Henley and Harpsden neighbourhood plan with a sale agreed earlier this year, subject to planning permission.

Of the 16 homes, two two-bedroom semi-detached homes have been designated as affordable housing.

This falls short of the recommendation in Henley’s neighbourhood plan that new developments include 40 per cent affordable housing. The 27.5 per cent reduction is permitted under rules designed to make developing a brownfield site easier. Permission was initially sought to build 22 homes. The number was reduced following concerns from the council around layout and massing, open space and drainage systems, landscaping and boundary treatment and amenity and environmental considerations.

The 16 homes will be a mix of two-storey and two-and-a-half-storey buildings, eight of which will have three bedrooms and six will have four bedrooms. Six will be semi-detached.

According to plans, the large family homes will be accompanied by “generous” front gardens and off-street parking.

The developer has pointed to train and bus links, the proximity to primary schools such as Valley Road and a “strong sense of privacy and seclusion” provided by mature trees and hedgerows as benefits of the site. While not within a conservation area, the developer will “respect” the established Henley architecture, characterised by low-rise suburban dwellings and traditional architectural detailing.

Town and county councillor Stefan Gawrysiak previously welcomed the proposal to use the site for housing rather than as a care home or for social services, to address the shortage of housing in Henley.

Two weeks ago, the Henley Standard reported that the site, which is owned by Oxfordshire County Council, was linked to an “out of control” rat problem in the area of Periam Close.

Residents said they believe rats are breeding in the grounds of the old care home and finding their way into their gardens.

A spokesman for the district council said it had received complaints and had written to nearby residents to “make them aware” of the problem and issue advice on dealing with an infestation. Meanwhile, Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo said he helped to secure a site visit by pest controllers and called on the county council to resolve the issue.

The county council’s sale of the site to Nicholas King New Homes is dependent on planning permission from South Oxfordshire District Council.

The public are invited to give their views in a consultation period running until Friday, October 17.

Three people have written to the council to voice their support for the plans, including Lynda Eymor, of Chalcraft Close, who wrote: “As the access to the properties passes some large private houses, the plan seems in keeping with the local housing aspect.”

The district council is expected to make a decision on the application by Tuesday, December 9.