Plan for 100-bed East Ayton care home rejected by Scarborough Council due to concerns about scale and transport links

Scarborough Council’s Planning Committee voted narrowly in favour of rejecting a plan that would have allowed a 100-bed care home and nine dwellings to be built on Racecourse Road, East Ayton.

The meeting, which was held on Thursday, March 9, saw members of the committee vote against approving the plan, which had previously been deferred, due to concerns about the scheme’s impact on the environment and access to the site.

Following a lengthy debate, those opposing the plan said that the proposed care home failed “to reflect the locality” and that the design was “out of scale of the local character”.

Councillors also criticised the “rural” location of the proposed site, with many raising concerns about a lack of public transport options to the site.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Heather Phillips said: “There are better sites in urban Scarborough.

“This does not fit the vernacular of the village and we have nothing that looks even vaguely like this in our village.”

She said that the plan would lead to “health tourism” and would not benefit local people.

Cllr Phillips added: “It’s a granny farm, that’s what I’m going to call it.”

Also speaking at the meeting, a member of East Ayton Parish Council, Derek Rowell, called for the plan to be rejected because of the site’s “isolated” location, a “lack of integration” in the village, and “because there is no transportation plan”.

The plan had been recommended for approval by council officers who said the proposed scheme was “a policy-compliant application in terms of residential development within a parcel of land allocated by this council for development”.

Speaking on behalf of the developer, Paul Sedgwick called on members of the committee to approve the plan, stating that “there is a high level of need for this type of development in Scarborough”.

Several councillors said that rejection of the plan is likely to lead to an appeal by the applicant.

Cllr Theresa Norton said: “Whilst we may not like the design of it, the developer is operating under government policy.

“We can argue against that, but at the end of the day they can appeal and as we know happened with the student accommodation on the high street, we end up paying a lot of money.

She added: “This is going to cost us a lot of money, money that we don’t have. This is taxpayer money that we keep losing”.

However, Cllr Bill Chatt responded by stating: “Yes, it is taxpayer money, but it is the taxpayers who are objecting.

“They have a voice as well and we as a committee should listen to the voice of the community which has said there is a strength of feeling against this development and they don’t feel like they’ve been engaged.”

The proposal to approve the plan was rejected by councillors who then voted in favour of refusing planning application, with seven votes cast in favour, six against, and one abstention.