Marlborough retirement homes plans spark anger amid crisis

In April, McCarthy Stone submitted plans to convert the former police station on George Lane in Marlborough into 30 homes for over 60s alongside 18 parking spaces.

The site, which was previously earmarked for an undelivered housing development, has been empty since 2019 when it was deemed surplus to requirements by Wiltshire Police.

The proposal will be discussed by Marlborough Town Council at a planning committee meeting on Monday, May 19, but many residents and councillors have already objected.

They have urged Wiltshire Council to reject the scheme over fears it will worsen the area’s housing issues and put pressure on the town’s younger generation.

Cllr Jane Davies called the plans in for debate by the Eastern Area Planning Committee, arguing the development would add to the town’s affordable housing shortage.

The former police station She said: “Marlborough has a significant housing supply shortage for affordable family homes.

“This site is identified in the Marlborough Neighbourhood Plan for mixed housing including affordable homes.

“Local infrastructure such as the doctor’s surgery is under pressure and Marlborough already has a high number of retirement complexes and according to the JSNA a higher than average population over 65 years.”

Russell Goodman, the deputy head of Marlborough St Mary’s Primary School, claims a lack of housing for younger families is harming services and schools in the area.

He said: “We have a falling number on roll across the schools in Marlborough due to the lack of young families in the area and dramatic increase in provision for elderly people.

“This is having an impact on our local schools, additionally, the impact on our local services has been devastating.

“We now have an average wait time to see a doctor of two months and an increase in elderly people will only increase this. This development must not go ahead.”

Plans for the former police station (Image: McCarthy Stone) Many objecting to the plans agreed with concerns Marlborough could become a “ghost town”, which were raised last December.

They believe that the lack of affordable homes for younger people or those on lower incomes could drive these groups out of the town, damaging the future of the town centre itself.

Nicola Meek added: “My family and I believe Marlborough caters well for the older generation with the amount of housing already available in the town.

“However there is a significant shortfall in available affordable homes for the younger generation starting out, trying to bring up their own families in their own town.

“This is forcing them to look elsewhere to live and subsequently taking the workforce with them.

“If you continue to build homes for an aging population without providing for the younger you will end up with a town full of older people with no shops or cafes.”

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McCarthy Stone, which manages retirement communities across the UK, argued the plans would make use of a site that has sat empty for years.

It is also hoped that providing specialist accommodation for over 60s in the town will lead to “under-occupied” houses being vacated for families to take on, decreasing the pressure to build on the green belt.

McCarthy Stone’s design and access statement said: “It is considered, through a detailed design approach where the opportunities and constraints of the site have been fully interrogated, that the proposed scheme represents a high-quality development of previously developed land in the heart of an established town with excellent connectivity and transport links.

“Not only will the resultant scheme bring underutilised and vacant land back into use, but it will also provide much needed elderly accommodation, that will help to address the current housing issues that we face with an aging population.”