TWENTY seven objections have been received to a plan to build 12 extra care apartments and a café at the rear of the Old Rectory Nursing Home on Green Belt land at Grappenhall, Warrington.
But when the scheme comes before Warrington Borough Council’s development management committee on May 21, planning officers will recommend it be approved.
The objectors claim the site in Church Lane is in the Green Belt and needs to be protected, that the additional apartments are not needed in the local area, that the scheme will more than double the footprint of the existing nursing home and there would be traffic issues in the village.
They also claim there would be a loss of trees and damage to adjacent listed buildings in a unique conservation area. The properties would be unaffordable for the majority of Grappenhall residents.
Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council does not oppose the proposals, however, subject to special care being taken to protect the cobbled Church Lane
If any damage is caused, repairs should be carried out at the developer’s expense.
The Warrington Adult Social Care Contracts and Commissioning Team supports the scheme because they say there is a shortage of extra care units in the borough for both present and projected needs over the next five to 10 years.
Plans to convert the existing main house to a nursing home were approved as long ago as 1985.
