Residents of a retirement living complex in Clifton fear they will be ‘living in darkness’ if a social housing apartment block is built.
Plans for the social housing block on the site of the former United Reformed Church, at the junction of Southchurch Drive and Green Lane, have re-emerged.
Nottingham City Council’s housing arm, Nottingham City Homes (NCH), first tabled plans for 24 one-bedroom apartments in 2020.
While the church was demolished, the apartment block was never built.
The scheme has now been redesigned as a three- to four-storey block including 40 apartments.
Residents living in Whiteways Court, a retirement complex that sits just metres away from the site, have spoken out against the plans.
Retired carer Kath Hamilton, 78, said she had sold her house to live in the complex and had been hoping to live out her days in peace.
“They will be blocking all the light out,” she said.
“We are going to be in darkness. They are going to build something; even bungalows wouldn’t be bad.
“The noise and all the building work mean we are not going to be able to have our doors or windows open. It is going to be horrendous.”
Many of the residents said they had spent large sums of money on an outdoor area, including seating, plants and flowers, and that this space could be adversely impacted by the scheme.
They said the garden would get less sunlight, while the new apartments would overlook the area, eliminating their privacy.
Elaine Collyer, who has lived in the complex for six years, said: “If they bring the wrong sort of people here, we are not going to feel safe. We’ve bought all that nice furniture, we’ve done all the gardens, and we are not going to feel safe sitting out there.”
Roly Braithwaite Senior added: “We will have nothing here at all; we will have no light. This is our social area, and it totally annuls that. Particularly the flats at the end, they will look out of their flats and see a blank wall.”
Another resident, Denise Thompson, recalled the building of the tram line along Southchurch Drive and described the years leading up to its opening in 2015 as “awful”.
“This will be even worse because it is so near us,” she said.
“Not only that, we will have all the dust to breathe in. A lot of us in here are old and ill, and we just don’t want it.”
“It will be the noise and the light; it will just be miserable for us. We came for a quiet life. If they are younger, they are not going to not have parties.”
Cllr Maria Watson, of the Nottingham Independents and Independent Group, represents Clifton East, the ward in which the apartment block is planned.
She said she will be handing in a petition to the council that has been signed by residents at Whiteways Court and nearby properties.
“While I fully recognise the urgent need for additional social housing, I do not believe that this particular site is suitable for a development of this scale,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“Its height, scale and proximity to existing homes would result in an unacceptable loss of privacy for nearby residents.
“Whiteways is a retirement living community that benefits from modest but valuable garden areas, providing residents with privacy, enjoyment and an important connection to the outdoors. The proposed development would significantly reduce natural light reaching these spaces and create a sense of being overlooked, adversely affecting the amenity, comfort and wellbeing of residents.
“Many Whiteways residents have chosen this retirement community because it offers a peaceful and secure environment. Some are elderly and living with health conditions, and many regard Whiteways as their permanent home.
“Understandably, the prospect of this development has caused significant stress and anxiety among residents.”
The council has been contacted for comment.