Residents object to plans for 29 homes on former day centre site

Hoober Homes has applied to build the properties on the former Oaks Day Centre site off Oak Road, with a mix of two to four bed homes.

The site has been vacant since 2019, and the applicant says the redevelopment of a brownfield site lessens the need for further land development, as it already benefits from existing infrastructure such as road networks, electricity networks and amenities.

Planning documents state that two access points to the site are not suitable for the proposals, and instead a new road will be built, central to the boundary along Oak Road to maximise the new access sight lines.

All properties will have a minimum of two parking spaces, to the front, side or rear.

Documents from the applicant state that the site is in a “sustainable location with good access to local amenities, schools and public transport links”.

Seven affordable homes will also be provided, in the form on six two-bed and one three-bed property, which will be “indistinguishable from theprivate market housing”.

The applicants add: “Given the former use of the site as a day care centre with both staff and visitors entering and leaving the site, it is expected that there is existing highway capacity to accommodate the proposed dwellings.

“The scheme is expected to deliver a balanced and mixed community and to act as a catalyst for local community regeneration. The scheme will provide affordable houses and will create opportunities for employment during the construction period.”

The South Yorkshire integrated care board, which oversees NHS services in the area, stated that the scheme is ‘unlikely to have a marked impact on primary care services in the local area, despite the capacity issues of local practices’.

However, residents have objected to the scheme on the grounds of increased traffic, construction noise, road safety, loss of privacy, environmental impact, and the effects of more residents on infrastructure.

One resident said there is ‘grave concern in the community over the mental health and wellbeing of the elderly and vulnerable people who occupy the council bungalows that are on two sides of the proposed development’.