Plans for a 60-bed care home in Kent face delay due to woodland worries near Grade II listed Westwood Lodge.
Rooksmead Residential wants to build the home, and it could create over 60 jobs. The location is near Westwood Lodge, a listed building. This lodge sits between Broadstairs and Westwood Cross.
Thanet District Council staff suggested approval. However, councillors delayed the decision at a meeting on Wednesday, February 19.
Simon Warner spoke for the developers, emphasizing the big need for care homes. He said this care home could offer many services, including dementia care and end-of-life care. Nursing, residential, and respite care could also be included. Several groups want to run this scheme.
Rooksmead asked for basic approval for the site without submitting specific designs yet. The plan was first submitted in 2023 with 66 bedrooms, later reduced. The building would be two stories and have 18 parking spots.
The area was used before as a site office supporting building 153 homes nearby. Those homes gained approval in 2021.
The site has older structures, including the lodge built in 1864 as a vacation home. There’s also a 17th-century farm cottage and a coach house.
A planning officer told committee members the plans benefit the public greatly. They create direct and indirect jobs, and those outweigh perceived harms. The officer thought the plans should pass.
The councillors liked the idea of a care home. Yet, they worried about losing woodland.
Cllr George Rusiecki spoke at the council, believing a care home is a good idea. He said Thanet needs more beds as it has an older population.
The woodland’s impact remains unclear, since the specific area was already an office. Full applications will show more details.
Cllr Steve Albon, who has lived there since 1973, said the woodland has slowly disappeared. He found this disappointing.
Cllr Rebecca Wing said it needs to blend in and thinks the building doesn’t fit the site.
A woodland plan exists. It accompanied the 153 homes’ approval, and Rooksmead would manage it now.
Cllr Mike Garner explained the plan’s details, mentioning it needs grassland for animals.
The motion to approve failed, and a new motion asked officers to find reasons to refuse it. They stressed the loss of woodland yet again.
The committee will vote again later.