Rushcliffe Borough Council’s planning committee met on Thursday (July 10) to discuss the change of use of the developing apartments on the land fronting Rose Way and Melton Road, in Edwalton.
Applicant Anchor, a not-for-profit provider of housing and care for people in later life, submitted plans for this block to the council in December 2024 to change the nature of the site.
Original approved plans from 2023 were for an “affordable” 77-apartment residential block to be built which would feature on-site care for people later in life.
After the plans were approved, the block will function as age-restricted “affordable” homes for over 55s without the care element—there is also an increase of three apartments, bringing the total to 80.
The change of the block’s function was deliberated for nearly one and a half hours, where the committee heard concerns from a nearby resident and councillors.
The majority of concerns related to “displaced parking” on nearby roads, where it was felt the applicant’s plans for 48 total parking spaces – an increase from 46 in original plans – were too few considering there would no longer be the care element on site.
Resident, Mr Khan, speaking on behalf of objectors, spoke of his worries for his three young children’s safety during the school run if there is an influx of traffic from the new block.
He said: “From personal experience, and I see this every single day, even if there’s one car parked in Rose Way, as soon as there’s a school run we end up seeing cars queuing.
“All it’s going to take is one child to run out from behind a car and get hit at 20 or 30 [mph] because no one, unfortunately, does 20 [mph] down that road… there’s a bit of a child safety aspect here – it’s a very family oriented area.”
Councillor Hetvi Parekh (Con) said Anchor had “cherry-picked” car and parking data taken from its own sites.
Rob Henderson, Anchor’s agent, had previously said in the meeting that there is around 30 per cent car usage across Anchor’s other schemes, with this current project essentially offering double the amount of parking and said many future apartment residents will likely be older than 55 without cars.
Cllr Parekh added: “Edwalton has limited nearby services, nor joined up public infrastructure. Expecting future residents to live car-free here is not just unrealistic, it’s poor planning and contradicts the lived experiences of local people.”
Cllr Ted Birch (Ind) responded to Mr Henderson’s “assumption” on future residents’ older ages, saying “the reality is there is high car ownership” with carers and family visits.
Documents state the site’s re-purposing would come after anticipated demand, and support and funding for the extra care originally proposed not being available.
Cllr Stuart Ellis moved a motion during the meeting to object to the plans on the grounds the applicant had not demonstrated displaced parking on nearby roads would not occur which questioned public safety.
There were five votes for the overall proposals, five against and one abstention, meaning the committee’s Chair, Rex Walker (Con), took the casting vote, ultimately seeing the updated scheme be approved.
An additional condition – that a car park management plan be submitted to and agreed in writing by the council before anyone moves in – was included in the approval.
The homes include 31 one-bed units and 49 two-bed units and papers state “no change” to the overall scale and outside layout of the building.
Vistry, a provider of affordable mixed-tenure homes, in partnership with Anchor, is also part of the £19 million deal behind the scheme.
The homes will be operated by Anchor, which is a registered social landlord which will work alongside the council on the units’ allocations.
