Benefits of Assisted Living Scheme Outweigh Harm to Designated Landscape GBC Planners Decide

Published on: 20 Dec, 2024
Updated on: 23 Dec, 2024

Illustrative CGI of the proposed development at Braboeuf Manor, in St Catherine’s, Guildford. Elysian Residences/Guildford Borough

By Emily Dalton

local democracy reporter

Plans for assisted living housing on a former university site have been given the green light despite concerns the development will “look like nine storeys” in a country field.

GBC’s Planning Committee members approved the application by 10 votes to two after deciding the benefits of later living facilities outweighed the harm to the surrounding area at their meeting on Wednesday (December 18).

The proposed scheme will create 131 extra care units for over 65s on the former University of Law’s Braboeuf Manor site, which has been unoccupied since the summer of 2024, in Guildford.

But nearly 100 people objected to the application, as well as the local residents groups, village associations and the Artington Parish Council. Criticising the application, the objectors said the scale, mass and height would be too “overbearing” on the surrounding views of the area of natural beauty (AONB) and the Grade II-listed manor house.

The proposal includes demolishing five buildings and building a further seven, varying between two, three and five storeys. The three and five-story buildings are said to be “built into the landscape” as the land rises. Although planning documents said the application area is well screened by mature trees, it noted the land rises steeply from east to west making some parts more visible.

The 9.6 hectare site is about 2.4km south-west of Guildford town centre and surrounded by green belt and a conservation area. The AONB Planning Advisor said: “The [proportion] and building bulk […] clearly do not conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the Surrey Hills National Landscape.”

John Harrison

Speaking at the meeting, John Harrison, of St Catherine’s Village Association, said the proposal is “far too high” and the “oversized” new accommodation buildings would “stick out in the wooded hillside that defines the natural landscape”. He told the committee the “large, angular, concrete framed” five-storey buildings in the south-west will “look like nine on rising land” and be “jarring”.

He said the national housing shortage does not relate to exceptional circumstances on this site, but council officers reported the extra care units would “make a meaningful contribution” to the borough’s housing supply.

Cllr Joss Bigmore

Cllr Joss Bigmore (R4GV, Merrow) said: “The harm to the national landscape, the conservation area, the remaining heritage harm is… greater than the well-recognised benefits.”

Although the development would harm the Surrey Hills National Landscape and the significant heritage of the manor, planning officers concluded the long-term benefits would outweigh the harm and be “in the public’s interest”.

Planning officers stated there is a current need for 427 extra care units in the Borough which could grow to 501 by 2035. Offering 24-hour care on-site, the report said the development would offer a positive contribution to Guildford’s older population.

Cllr Howard Smith

Cllr Howard Smith (Lab, Westborough) also reasoned that if residents in big houses wanted to move into a smaller property in a community, it would be “an attractive option”. He added it would “help with the churns of homes in Guildford” with people downsizing from larger houses, then other people moving in as their families grow.

Planning documents reveal the Garde II listed 16th-century Braboeuf Manor building will provide social spaces for residents including a library. The scheme also has a restaurant (for public and private access), and wellness facilities such as a swimming pool and gym in the pavilion building.

According to Elysian Residences, the applicant and to-be operator of the proposed site, the company focuses on locations with an aging population. Director Mark Curry told the Planning Committee the company’s housing frees up local, underused family housing and reduces the burden on the NHS. He cited the UK’s growing older population and “ageing with independence and dignity is an important social responsibility”.