Members of Tandridge District Council criticised the plans for ‘invading the green belt on the outskirts of Lingfield’.
The plans, which were submitted by developers Merrow Wood, were comprised of 107 independent living homes in East Grinstead Road in Lingfield and a new medical centre that would replace the old GP surgery.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, around 70 of the new properties would have come in the form of apartments and 28 would’ve been cottages for senior retirement living. Likewise, the medical centre would have included 10 consulting rooms.
However, despite a spokesperson from Merrow Wood saying the complex would ‘service the local community and people with specialist needs’, the plans will never become reality.
Planning officers from Tandridge District Council recommended the plans for refusal, citing that there were no exceptional circumstances for building on rural land and the proposed development didn’t fit entirely into the surroundings.
Peter Killick, councillor for Lingfield, said ‘to have a retirement village at the entrance would affect the rural character forever.’
Echoing a similar tone, he described the entire development as ‘unnecessary’ as it would mean an ‘over provision of retirement homes in the location’.
Photo by Mark Rohan via UnSplash
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