AITCHISON Raffety has achieved planning consent on behalf of SunCare Limited for a ground floor extension to a day-care centre at 123 Milton Street North, Kingsley, Northampton, following an appeal made to the Planning Inspectorate.
The day-centre provides specialist support for members of the local community who have learning difficulties, physical disabilities and brain injuries. The facility helps enable users to be physically active and socialise with others at the centre, as well as teaching valuable life skills which can then be implemented within their daily lives. The facility provides important therapy services such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and rebound therapy allowing its end users to become more independent so that they can be gradually introduced back into the community in which they live.
Having had their initial application refused, SunCare approached Aitchison Raffety to submit a planning appeal. Aitchison Raffety also advised on submitting a revised application to help overcome the council’s reasons for refusal, which would run parallel to the appeal. In order to ensure these hard-to-reach groups were considered in the statutory consultation stages, Aitchison Raffety provided the planning authority with over twenty letters of support from the community, together with a copy of the Northamptonshire Transforming Care Plan which highlighted the vital role of such facilities.
This application was also strongly resisted by the council having been refused under delegated powers. However, in determination of the revised scheme in an appeal the planning inspector found that the health and well-being benefits of the proposal outweighed the level of harm identified by the local planning authority. The planning inspector also gave consideration to the fact the property did not represent a residential use and the educational and economic benefits as highlighted by Aitchison Raffety.
This appeal decision will help ensure that SunCare Limited can continue providing specialist care for disadvantaged groups within the community, having seen a need for increased space in which to accommodate additional clients.
For further information, please contact Andrew Gray at Aitchison Raffety on 01604 880163 or via email to