After a successful planning appeal, Churchill Retirement Living has been granted planning permission to build 39 brand new retirement apartments in the centre of Calne. Located just off the High Street, the new development will bring a thriving new community to the heart of town, just a short walk from the local shops, amenities, leisure facilities and public transport links.
In the appeal decision notice, the Government’s Planning Inspector John Wilde concluded that the development would bring “a number of benefits”. He stated that “a brown field site would be developed, resulting in improvement to the public realm”, and that there would be “economic benefits both in the short term in respect of the building process and in the longer term with respect to the spending of residents in the local economy”. He also highlighted that those who downsize “may well free up family homes within the area” and concluded: “The Council would also receive the new homes bonus. These benefits would all be on the positive side of the environmental, social and economic limbs of sustainability.”
The new development will provide attractive, high quality, secure and self-contained accommodation in landscaped grounds. As with all Churchill Retirement Living developments, Owners will enjoy independent living and a sense of community, with the benefits of a communal Owners’ Lounge, a Guest Suite, a Lodge Manager, and a 24 hour emergency call alarm service.
Stuart Goodwill, Managing Director of Churchill Retirement Living’s in-house Planning consultancy, said: “After a long and costly process I’d like to thank everyone who has helped towards achieving this very positive result. There is a compelling overall housing need in Calne and the surrounding area, especially for older people, and our site is in a perfect location for a new development of this kind. Retirement housing is the most effective way of generating local economic growth, local jobs, and increasing high street spend as we look to recover from the pandemic. It will help improve the health and wellbeing of those who live there, and create a vibrant new community in the heart of Calne.”