Council recommends U-turn on 100-bed East Ayton care home, near Scarborough, after rejection of plans in March

Councillors on the Scarborough and Whitby area planning committee will be asked to make a U-turn and approve plans for nine homes and a 100-bed care home on Racecourse Road, East Ayton, less than a year after a similar proposal was rejected.

The councillors, many of whom were on the planning committee when the scheme was rejected, have been advised to approve the “resubmission” of the plan as the application is currently at appeal.

Rejection of the scheme, which was “contrary to officer recommendation”, was supported by ward councillors and committee members who said that the size of the project was “out of scale with the local character” and raised concerns about transport links for potential employees and residents.

However, the applicant has said that the resubmitted proposal “reduces the visual impact of the care home elevations and provides additional evidence on elderly care needs and on landscape and visual appearance of the development”.

A report prepared for the planning committee meeting on Thursday, November 9, states that “the main differences from the previous application now at appeal essentially relate to a hipped rather than gabled roof and the submission of additional information”.

No objections to the new plan have been submitted by the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, Highway Authority, or the NHS.

Despite concerns about a lack of public transport, questions about the “need” for a 100-bed care home, and the style of the scheme, council officers have emphasised that the plan “would accord with relevant policies and it is not necessary to demonstrate need”.

More than a dozen letters of objection to the scheme have already been received by the North Yorkshire Council highlighting similar concerns.

East Ayton Parish Council has also objected over concerns about a lack of consultation and an “increase in the older population” in the village, were the plan to be approved.

A design and access statement, submitted by Mr Wylie, notes that the applicant “has not discussed the project directly with the local community, but has submitted a pre-application to the local authority planning department”.

However, the new application does include a “framework travel plan that sets out existing non-car modes of transport” and commits to the appointment of a “travel plan coordinator” but does not specify further detailed measures.

A report by council officers concludes that following an “overall consideration of planning issues”, the proposal is “acceptable” and should be approved by councillors.