Kingsclere Care Home plans going to appeal after Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's refusal

Rejected plans for a 50-bedroom care home in Kingsclere are going to appeal.

The controversial scheme was refused by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council last September on several grounds.

These included that the proposed development “would not be sympathetic to the landscape character of the area” nor “positively contribute to the character and appearance of the area”.

Frontier Estates applied for planning permission for the facility, which was proposed to be located on a patch of land between the A339 and Fawconer Road, in 2021.

Those who criticised the plans believed the Hampshire village had no need for a care home, and the land should be used to build affordable homes for local people instead.

Kingsclere Parish Council chairman Clive Mussett said: “The application itself had a number of worrying elements, not least the fact, in the parish council’s view, that there is a very material deficiency in parking to operate what will be a fairly large care home.

“The site we also don’t believe is suitable, not least the fact that it was earmarked for housing development which is clearly needed in the village and this was clearly included in the neighbourhood plan.”

Speaking in defence of the plans, Frontier Estates development director Will Rees said the care home – which is targeted at Kingsclere residents with serious forms of dementia or who need end-of-life care – would help to free up family homes in the village.