CONTROVERSIAL plans to knock down Malvern’s old community hospital and replace it with a care home have been overwhelmingly rejected.
Representatives of Malvern Hills District Council’s southern area planning committee last Wednesday voted 16-1 against Caring Homes Group/Montpelier Estates’ proposals to build a 46-bed home at the site in Lansdowne Crescent.
This is the third time the developers have failed to gain the support of the district council.
In 2015, the Colchester-based firm had submitted two different applications, one in a traditional style and one more modern, to build on the site but both were thrown out on the grounds of the loss of an historic building and the size of the proposed replacements.
This time around, council officers had been recommending approval but the latest rejection has pleased the Malvern Civic Society.
Vice-president Roger Sutton said: “We are very lucky to have been given a reprieve and we will now have a good old think about the strategy we can take.
“The civic society will be holding a meeting to review the situation and see where we can go from here.
“It’s unreasonable to block something 100 per cent so we will have to think of ways to reach a compromise.
“There is no doubt the site needs development but on the other hand developers should be sensitive to local opinion.”
The future of the site at Lansdowne Crescent was thrown up into the air following the opening of the new community hospital on Worcester Road, Malvern Link, in 2010.
A spokesperson for Caring Homes Group said: “We are disappointed that the application was refused permission contrary to the council planning officer’s recommendations as we believe this is an ideal location for a much-needed high quality care home.
“We will need to review the decision notice with the landowner Montpellier Estates before taking any decisions on the future.”
