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Plans to build extension at The Willows Care Home in Rippingale refused for second time




Plans to extend a care home have been refused for a second time after councillors raised concerns over changes that had been made to satisfy their initial worries.

The owners of The Willows Care Home, in Rippingale, submitted revised plans to build an extension on its existing site, which could accommodate an additional 10 residents.

Members of South Kesteven District Council’s planning committee unanimously voted to reject the revised plans on Friday (January 19).

The Willows Care Home, in Rippingale.
The Willows Care Home, in Rippingale.

Initially, the extension was said to be “harmful to the street scene” and councillors felt it would not make a positive contribution to the character of the area and it would prevent natural light going into the existing rooms of the care home.

Changes made to these initial refusal points included an amended design.

Representatives of Rippingale, including Coun Richard Dixon-Warren (Con - Aveland ward), Coun Chris Charlton, who chairman of Rippingale Parish Council, and other residents spoke about continuing issues to the committee.

Coun Dixon-Warren questioned whether the committee could “honestly believe it was acceptable” to approve the application that had a “long list of concerns”.

Resident Howe Jervis then told the committee of the “intolerable amount of noise” that he had to deal with living next to the care home in Pinfold Close.

The proposed extension at The Willows Care Home, in Rippingale.
The proposed extension at The Willows Care Home, in Rippingale.

He also said it was a “badly managed operation” and that the applicants did not live in the village and had “little regard for the community”.

Coun Tim Harrison (Ind - Grantham St Wulfram’s) asked Mr Jervis to describe the noise impact.

Mr Jervis said he would hear residents banging on windows and laundry carts going back and forth and it was “something we hear on a frequent basis”.

Another resident claimed that her privacy would be impacted as taking away a hedgerow would mean the extension would “look directly” into her garden.

Representatives of Willow Homes Limited, the applicant, said that the home always had been in “need of provisional bed space” to meet demands.

The Willows Care Home, in Rippingale.
The Willows Care Home, in Rippingale.

They added that they “believed” there would be “no loss of privacy” for surrounding residents and no noise impact with the revised recommendations.

Coun Harrison asked whether concern had been given to existing residents and questioned how Willow Homes would help the “extra stress of putting more people into your building who are already suffering”.

Willow Homes representative asked if Coun Harrison had ever “actually visited a care home” as he didn’t “appreciate anyone saying a resident was suffering”.

In a heated reply, Coun Harrison said he had visited several care homes and spoke of his mother who had suffered from the “noise and interference from other residents” that led to extra stress.

Coun Harrison then excused himself from the meeting.

Several councillors continued to share their concerns across the meeting, including Coun Charmaine Morgan (Dem Ind - Grantham St Vincent’s) who thought the revised application was “worse” than the previous.

She added that the loss of trees would “significantly impact the character”.

Coun Morgan did say there were a “huge amount of hospital beds” unavailable and said it was “appropriate we [the council] provide accommodation for everyone”.

Among the reasons that councillors unanimously refused the application were that the development was considered to be “cramped” and that it was poorly designed.

It was also said there would be an “unacceptable impact” on the residents and that the loss of trees and hedgerows would impact biodiversity.

Following the meeting, Roop Nahil, who is a director of the care home alongside her husband Sunhil, said it was not “great” to hear the refusal, but they will “not hold a grudge”.

Mrs Nahil added: “We have drawn a line under it.

“My staff said how could you be so nice but we are bigger people.

“I just want to draw a line under it and try to have a good relationship with our neighbours.

“We are starting to work hard with the residents, we will continue to work with the council and we have a new manager.

“We are doing very well. I’m very satisfied in my mind we are doing what we can

“My heart and soul goes into that place.”

Mr Nahil said that the it “wasn’t very pleasant being at the tail end” and claimed that the neighbours only started to make more complaints after the planning application was submitted.

He added: “We are trying to cater for the elderly people in the area, we are trying to provide for the residents for that area because this area is not like a big city, so people who have grown up want to stay in the area.

“We look after residents 24 hours a day as it’s their home. There will always be a certain amount of noise.”



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