A Cornwall Council planning committee has decided that the benefits of a proposed 67-bed care home and 26 apartments outweigh the concerns of neighbours, who fear being overlooked and overspill parking.

Councillors heard details of an application by housing and care provider Sanctuary to build the care home on a car park at former council offices at Higher Trenant Road, Wadebridge. The council building, which closed in 2020, would also be converted into the apartments.

The scheme has received 22 comments on the council’s planning portal, all of which are against the development. Many of the objections come from people living on the Trevarner Meadow housing estate.

Concerns included being overlooked by a 3.5-storey building, which some believe is too big for the area, as well as a lack of sufficient parking which could see people parking outside nearby homes.

Neither objectors nor the parish and town councils in the area were represented at the meeting.

A committee report states: “The scheme would make a positive contribution towards meeting a critical and growing need for specialist supported accommodation within Cornwall, aligning with the council’s corporate objectives to support sustainable communities and address the challenges of an ageing population.

“One of Cornwall’s principal challenges is the shortage of certain types of care home capacity, with Cornwall currently experiencing declining care home provision, with an average net loss of 25 beds per year over the last four years.

“Demand is close to outstripping available supply and there is a danger that Cornwall Council will not be able to meet its statutory requirements under the Care Act of 2014.”

The meeting heard there is a predicted under-supply of 2,400 beds by 2040 with a need in Wadebridge and the surrounding area for an additional 216 beds.

As well as the care home, the proposal also would deliver 26 affordable residential units – six of which would be for staff – in an area where the HomeChoice housing register indicates 289 households are seeking affordable accommodation. The apartments are intended to be let at an affordable rent.

Claire Newcombe, development manager at Sanctuary, said: “Our aim is to deliver seven new care homes in Cornwall over the next ten years to meet the demands of an ageing population with inadequate existing provision.”

Pauline Shilson, manager of St Breock Care Home in Wadebridge, which is also run by Sanctuary, added that elderly care facilities were insufficient in the town and there was a real need for enhanced living spaces.

A report by Cllr Rose Moore, the Lib Dem councillor for the town, was read out at the meeting in which she said the benefits of the care home outweighed potential negative impacts.

However, she did note “several important concerns” including road safety and pedestrian issues with the need for pavement improvements around the site.

The meeting heard that a travel plan by the applicant would mitigate any suggestion of people parking outside nearby houses.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

Councillors agreed that the care home facilities would be of benefit to people in the town and voted unanimously in favour.