Neighbours object to plans for 40 new flats in Carlisle
Last updated at 13:20, Wednesday, 08 August 2012
Nearly 50 neighbours have signed a petition against plans for 40 retirements flats on the site of a Carlisle social club.
City planners are due to debate the plans at a meeting later this month but the flats, on land where the St Augustine’s Social Club building currently stands at Waverley Gardens, off Scotland Road, have largely angered neighbours.
They say the three-storey building will block light, affect privacy and lead to an increase in traffic in their street.
Geoff Tindall, who spoke at previous council meetings about earlier plans, lives in Waverley Gardens and is leading the objections. He has registered to speak at the council meeting on August 17.
“I strongly disagree with this as it stands,” he said.
“The sheer scale of the development is far too high. It will stand head and shoulders above all properties and it poses a problem with privacy issues.”
He likened the building to “a multi-storey hotel in the middle of a quiet residential estate” and said it would be better built on the old Belah school site, where a new medical centre is being constructed.
A total of 48 people have signed a petition against the plans, with many sending letters to the council to voice concerns.
Caroline Bulman, also living in Waverley Gardens, is one of them.
She said the development would cause a lot of distress to residents nearby and was ‘totally inappropriate’ for people living there.
“There will be a substantial loss of privacy for those living in bungalows,” she said.
“The proposed development and all it’s implications have not been fully thought through.”
A handful of residents, however, have welcomed the plans, describing the existing building as “a complete eyesore” and voicing support for more housing for the elderly.
Specialist developers McCarthy & Stone, who have built 50,000 retirement homes in the UK, lodged proposals to turn the site into one and two bedroom flats with guest bedrooms and communal lounge areas.
They say they want to provide housing for those aged 78 and over, with the aim of keeping their independence in a ‘specialised form of accommodation currently limited in Carlisle.’
It would be a high quality development that would contribute positively to meeting local housing needs, they added.
“The development provides residents with safety, security and companionship and removes the heavy burden of property maintenance,” the company said in supporting information provided to the council.
The plans are the second to develop the site after councillors granted outline planning consent for 16 semi-detached homes in 2009.
The Catholic church, which owns the land, wanted to get planning permission to maximise the value of the plot before offering it for sale to potential developers.
St Augustine’s Social Club closed in 2008 and the church was granted permission to extend it.
It has since been used as a parish centre.
First published at 11:27, Wednesday, 08 August 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
No one is objecting to retirement flats. Most of us like this idea. But lets be sensible the only reason for the height and numbers of flats is to add value to the land the church is trying to sell to developers. If we dont object no one else will do it for us. I hope when your elderly parents are faced with heartache and bullying from some money grabbing buisness that there will be someone to to come and stand up for them.
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Fantastic to see the North of the River aristocrats are still alive and kicking. I would guess some 50% of Belah, Stanwix and Lowry Hill are close to and of retirement age so why are they whining on? Or are they after Waitrose and Yo Sushi?
Posted by johnstitch on 12 August 2012 at 23:29