Outcry over bid to build home at war memorial
LAND IS OWNED BY ALMSHOUSES TRUST, WHICH WOULD BENEFIT FROM ‘EXTREMELY GENEROUS DONATION’
DOZENS of villagers are fighting plans to build on war memorial land in Derbyshire.
An application to build a bungalow on gardens of the Sunnyside Almshouses, in Newton Solney, has met with objections from more than 80 villagers. Newton Solney Parish Council is also against the plans on the grounds that the land is an official war memorial, the four almshouses having been built to house the poor and elderly in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The Percy William Ratcliff Cottages Trust has applied to build the twobedroom detached bungalow, and it is understood that the land itself has been purchased by a mystery buyer.
One objector, Karen Makin Wall, said: “These people [in the existing almshouses] are elderly and vulnerable. Some will look out of their bedroom window and see the boundary wall instead of their garden. It is a beautiful little spot. The whole garden was given to the residents. If it goes ahead they will have to rename it Darkside instead of Sunnyside. Residents are now waiting with bated breath to see what happens.”
She added that some of the proposed six car parking spaces had been earmarked for existing residents, but they did not drive. Other objectors say it will impact on the character of the area and the wildlife. They also claim the application fails to demonstrate a housing need.
Under the trust’s plans, the buyer would live there “for the foreseeable future”, but the detached bungalow would eventually be converted into two new almshouses.
The application to South Derbyshire District Council has been recommended for approval by the authority’s planning bosses, who are due to decide whether to give it the green light today.
The mystery buyer, who has given “an extremely generous” donation to the trust, is in their 60s and has a direct blood relative living in the village, a report to the council’s planning committee revealed.
The trust also added that the cash would be of “enormous benefit” to ensure the longevity of the trust as it could not afford to build any additional property for itself.
The original trust was set up on January 1, 1951, and was designed to provide accommodation for the poor who have resided in the parish of Newton Solney for no less than five years. Over the years, different people have lived in the bungalows. Since then, there have been no sizeable bequests to the trust and it is doubtful that any would be forthcoming in the immediate future, the trust previously said.
The council’s conservation officer said in the report that overall the building would sit comfortably beside its existing neighbours. The officer also added: “Additionally, the presence of two sets of almshouses in close proximity, despite their differing style, does add to the character of the conservation area and tells a story of ongoing acts of local philanthropy which the proposal would, in the longer term, represent a continuation of as the property would be gifted to the almshouses trust and ultimately be available to provide further accommodation for the trust to utilise.”
Planning officers at the council concluded in their report: “While the loss of both the open space to the front of the existing Sunnyside Bungalows and the holly tree is regrettable, these points are considered to be outweighed by the benefits of providing an additional bungalow to be used in the long term by the trust and also securing the long term future of the charitable trust.
“This is in the context of applying an appropriate mechanism to secure the long term benefits of providing an additional bungalow put forward by the applicant and the ability to secure a landscaping scheme that will mitigate the loss of the holly tree.”