Hamilton Lodge to be tuned into housing estate

Tendring Council has approved outline plans for 67 residential properties at the former Hamilton Lodge, in Parsons Hill, Great Bromley, 30 per cent of which are said to be affordable housing.

A further 12 homes, which were subject to detailed plans, were also approved and will comprise the first stage of the development.

The proposals also included the formation of a new junction to Parsons Hill.

Hamilton Lodge operated as a care home for 70 years from 1948, caring for people with learning and physical disabilities as well as elderly people.

It closed in 2017 due to extensive repair bills, the buildings not being fit for purpose and the inability to recruit and retain staff.

Although outline and detailed permissions were granted, the applicant must comply with a number of conditions, including ensuring nothing is demolished until a programme of historic building recording has been carried out.

Concerns were raised about the building of more houses in the village, questioning if the infrastructure could cope.

Sarah Gallaher Rose said: “With two other developments within less than a mile, this just seems excessive for the village.

“The village school is already oversubscribed. There are no local shops or doctor’s surgery. It is already hard enough to get a doctor’s appointment without another 67 families.

“The entrance to the proposed site is on a blind bend and would cause even more traffic on this road; already a rat run.”

But the applicant said the development will improve the use of public transport, especially routes 105 and 107.

The planning statement read: “Whilst relatively substantial, the building is dilapidated following years of institutional use and decay.

“Without planning permission and without investment, the site will continue to decay. It is already a security problem, with many instances of unauthorised access and damage.

“Years of decline and decay can be stopped, an enduring example of great place-making.”