At last night’s (02 December) meeting of the Town Council Planning Committee Councillors were presented with the concept and plan for McCarthy & Stone’s proposed redevelopment of the former Police station in George Lane.
Representatives of MCarthy & Stone, their planning consultant and architect comprised that party and they explained why they were proposing this new ‘two and a half’ story retirement complex for the elderly compromising thirty one and two-bed apartments, for which they had allocated eighteen parking spaces.
Their proposal was based partly on research which indicated that Wiltshire would require ‘15,000 additional housing units’ for the elderly by 2030. Population of the Wiltshire Council is more than half a million adults, Marlborough population is less than ten thousand, so Marlborough accounts for less than 2% of Wiltshire’s population. And, as many of the Councillors present made clear to the McCarthy & Stone team, Marlborough is already overflowing with retirement complexes and yet another, such as this would place even greater strain on the infrastructure of the town, notably health which was already under severe pressure. Weeks or months to get an appointment noted Mayor Kym-Marie. And, as was pointed out, it was the elderly who were more likely to be in need of the services of the medical practice than younger residents.
Former Mayor Cllr Mervyn Hall highlighted that the recently launched Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan made clear a need for affordable housing, particularly for the younger members of the community. He also clarified that the plan stated that there should be 40% affordable housing units in this former Police Station site.. This was questioned by a member of the McCarthy & Stone team, only for Cllr Hall to point out that he was the chair of the team that created the plan.
Mayor Kym-Marie Cleasby acknowledged the quality and reputation of the complexes that McCarthy & Stone had created, but referred to what Marlborough actually needed, and questioned whether this was about considering the town, as it is now and will become in the near future, or consideration of the business of McCarthy & Stone. Deputy Mayor, Emily Trow stated that Marlborough was losing affordable accommodation whereas this was exactly what the town needed. She added that this proposal appeared not to be about the needs of the town, rather it was about profit.
Parking: Cllr Kelvyn Shantry questioned why only eighteen spaces for thirty dwellings? Pointing out that the George Lane area was already heavily restricted for parking and it wasn’t just the residents, it was also visitors and those attending the elderly residents. This development would add further to the fragility of parking in Marlborough.
Former mayor Cllr Lisa Farrell was vociferous in explaining her concerns. She was ‘gobsmacked’, as the town was losing young people, steadily, as accommodation was becoming ever more scarce and expensive, and without the younger members staying here and growing within this community the effect on Marlborough will be that it will die.
She added: “We have lost York Place, and the housing associations are still selling more social housing. Our young people have no opportunities, and young families can’t get bigger housing, so three kids are sharing a bedroom. People in private accommodation are being charged high rent, or the property can be sold, so it’s not a safe home. As a Town Councillor who represents the people of this town, I will not support this development at the old Police station in any way.”
One of the McCarthy & Stone representatives did counter the assumption that this would affect housing for the younger and less well-off by pointing out that as older residents downsized into exclusive developments such as these, their homes could be taken by those younger families who needed accommodation. However, this did not take into account the issues of cost – downsizing into an exclusive complex normally meant that the resident was moving from an already expensive property, and, as Clly Nick Fogg questioned – where would these buyers be coming from? Marlborough? Or more likely other parts of the prosperous South East?
Whilst there was no formal proposal to require a vote from Councillors it would have been unlikely for any such vote – if one was needed – to have been in favour, rather to the contrary. Housing – the balance between affordable and expensive is right at the core of how Marlborough evolves in the coming decade(s) as all Councillors who voiced opinions were clear to state. And they did, as one.
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