Community ‘disappointed’ as 71-bed care home approved for Verbena Court

The community has been left ‘disappointed’ after Wiltshire Council approved controversial plans to build a 71-bed, three-storey care home on land at Verbena Court in Melksham East, which residents had hoped could be used for a community facility.

The plans, submitted by Frontier Estates (San) Ltd, were approved at Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee meeting on Tuesday 4th June, to build the care home, which will provide care for those with enhanced needs such as dementia.

Melksham Town Council, Melksham Without Parish Council (MWPC) and local residents have strongly objected to the plans, but the developer’s agent, Gillings Planning, say it meets a need in the area.

Concerns were raised with the plans citing an increase in traffic, particularly around school drop-off and pick-up times for Forest & Sandridge Primary School. They also said there is a lack of parking, with only 24 spaces available and a lack of close public transport links.

Melksham could also see the building of two other 70-bed care homes. A care home planned for Longleaze Lane will be considered next month. A 70-bed care home on Western Way was approved in January following a public hearing after Wiltshire Council had refused the application three times.

‘Disappointment and Resentment’

At the meeting on 4th June to consider the care home at Verbena Court, cllr Mike Sankey spoke about the community’s ‘disappointment’ and ‘resentment’ at the site no longer being used for a community facility after Wiltshire Council removed the community use part of the Section 106 covenant, saying instead facilities could be provided by Forest & Sandridge Primary School.

A Section 106 agreement is an agreement that reserves funds for community facilities.

Cllr Sankey said that the intended community facilities that Wiltshire Council said are available are either not available, or can only be accessed when it suits the school.

‘Cumulative Impact’

In urging the council to refuse the application, cllr Sankey also highlighted concerns around the potential issues with recruiting carers, particularly with two other planning applications to build 70-bed care homes at Longleaze Lane and Western Way, which has recently been approved.

“We will potentially have three separate employers vying from the same pool for employees to staff their facilities,” explained cllr Sankey. “On the plus side, one would hope that the principles of supply and demand would mean that care staff in Melksham would be offered enhanced terms and conditions of employment. The reality is that there would not be enough staff to go around and potentially, the standard of care in all three facilities could suffer as a consequence.”

Cllr Sankey also said that in the Melksham Neighbourhood Plan, the Acorn Housing needs assessment states that the needs of an ageing population should be met by ensuring all new homes are accessible for the ageing population and adaptations can be made to ensure they can stay at home for longer.

“For these reasons, Melksham Town Council and MWPC ask the committee refuse this application,” said cllr Sankey.

Advocating the development Anna Gillings from Gillings Planning said, “There is a genuine evidenced and functional need for the care beds, particularly beds that are able to meet dementia needs. It is a well-designed, high-quality building that responds to its surroundings. All technical consultees have raised no objection, which we agree to, including the one of EV charging, which we could expand to include all 20 spaces if that’s what the committee wants to do, including highways who are content with the parking, access and trip generation.