Residents have lost their campaign to stop amended plans for a new nursing care home which they believe will lead to increased traffic and pose safety and noise problems in their neighbourhood.
Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee approved Cairnwell Developments’ amended planning application at a meeting on October 14 for the specialist nursing care home for adults on 0.33 hectares of largely grassland with access, landscaping and parking off Hartfield Close, in Hasland, Chesterfield, after it had originally been refused.
Resident Chantelle Deeming stated: “I feel deep concerns as to how this small residential close will be impacted by being used as access for a large care home which will be in fact a business.
“It has always been the case that people visiting businesses have little or no respect for residents as seen for persons living near shops, pubs, colleges, [and] schools who experience daily interruptions if their street is the access route.
“Most residents chose to live here due to the quiet cul-de-sac nature of the street. Making it [into] an access road would change the whole dynamic of the Close.”
Cllr Amanda Serjeant, who is the ward member for Hasland, had also objected to the plans for the 34-bed facility after she had raised residents’ concerns with the council about access, the narrowness of cul-de-sac Hartfield Close and the feared ‘unsuitable nature’ of the site.
Cairnwell Developments’ original planning application was refused by the council in February on the grounds it would create additional traffic disruption and safety issues and the on-site parking was deemed inadequate, but the amended and resubmitted application now features a slightly smaller building with more car parking spaces.
The new scheme includes 21 car parking spaces with three electric vehicle charging points and two wheelchair accessible spaces with access from Hartfield Close with a new building layout where as originally it had proposed 17 parking spaces with two electric vehicle charging spaces and 2 wheelchair accessible spaces.
Assurances have also been offered with a new construction plan to reduce concerns during the building process with off-site parking for off-loading staff and materials, and an agreement staff will not park on Hartfield Close and any visitors will be prompted to confirm they have not parked on Hartfeld Close.
However, during the latest planning process 19 objections were received from residents arguing Hartfield Close is not suitable as an access road because it is already badly affected by an excessive number of cars and the scheme would make it unsafe for youngsters playing in the area.
Some also raised concerns about possible increased pollution and noise with an increased potential for accidents and that the newly outlined scheme does little to improve upon the previously refused application.
However, Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority raised no objections to the amended scheme after stating Hartfield Close is wide enough for extra traffic, that care homes are ‘low traffic generators’, and the road has ‘footways’, and the car park now offers four additional spaces.
The highways authority also welcomed plans to introduce a speed bump on the site.
A borough council spokesperson stated: “The submitted Transport Statement has carried out a trip generation assessment and it has been forecast that the proposed development will generate four trips during the weekday morning peak hour and two trips in the weekday evening highway network peak hour.
“The traffic impact associated with the proposed development will therefore be negligible.”
The Environment Agency raised no comments because the development will be situated in an area with no perceived flood risk concerns.
Despite Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s concerns about the potential loss of biodiversity, the applicant has agreed to manage the shortfall by considering off-site habitats along with the introduction of bird and bat boxes and plans for landscaping to replace lost trees.
A borough council report stated the scheme will generate less traffic than an alternative residential development which could have been built on the same land.
The council also argued that existing parking issues are due to residents owning multiple vehicles and how they currently use existing parking spaces and this should be ‘a matter of community responsibility rather than blaming future developments’.
A council spokesperson added: “The application site is located within the built-up area in a location which is within walking and cycling distances of key services and facilities, therefore the proposal is considered to be acceptable in principle.
“The building is considered to be of an acceptable design which would not have detrimental impact on the amenities of local residents.”
The committee granted planning permission for the nursing care home subject to the completion of an agreement to secure financial contributions for the monitoring of a travel plan along with any necessary support for a biodiversity gain plan.
Exemplar Health Care who specialise in providing specialist nursing care for adults with complex needs including mental health issues, dementia,neurological disabilities and physical disabilities will be the care home operator.
