STUDLEY needs family homes not care homes – and certainly not ones that charge its residents up to £1,400 a week to stay there.
That was the message from parish councillors at their meeting on Tuesday night.
Councillors had just listened to renewed proposals to build a 64 bed care home on the Namco site in the village, on land bordered by New Road, Pool Road, Atcheson Close and St Mary’s RC School.
Planning consultant Anna Gillings and David Driscoll of Porthaven Care Homes had given a presentation on the scheme which envisages a two storey combined nursing home and care home together with outline planning permission for 10 new homes.
Stratford planners have already thrown out one care home proposal, a decision which Ms Gilling said they were now appealing against, and this second one, she said, addressed some of the concerns raised in the original one, namely the height of the building and the issue of the footpath from Pool Road to New Road, which has been a site of anti social behaviour.
Using a radius of 15 minutes drive time, Mr Driscoll outlined the growing population of over 65s to 2030 – a 27 per cent increase in Stratford district alone – and the pressing need for more care home beds – nearly 800 by 2027.
However silence greeted the news the cost per week for a resident staying there could range from £1,000 to £1,400.
Coun Paul Beaman slammed the plans.
“There is a desperate need for family homes in Studley.
“You can come from Evesham, Stratford or south Birmingham in 15 minutes and we will see those people coming to our village to your home on land that could be used for people from our village.”
Speaking afterwards he said such was the pressure for new homes in Studley he feared unless more land could be found within the Studley triangle, such as on the Namco site, the Green Belt might have to be broken to build them.
Coun Brian Dixon questioned the travel to work arrangements and added: “This is a very valuable site for our village and homes are desperately needed and yet you are only offering ten.”
On the issue of cost, newly co-oped Councillor Matt Fox said: “If local people cannot use this care home due to price it’s a pointless exercise having it here.”
