Revised council care scheme agreed after residents' complaints

Winchmore Hill redevelopment will provide affordable housing for older people, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

A computer-generated image of how the care home at Reardon Court will look — *The original plans for Reardon Court, which have now been scaled down*

Revised plans for a residential care scheme in Winchmore Hill have been approved by councillors.

The changes to Reardon Court Extra Care Facility, a council-led redevelopment of a former care home site in Cosgrove Close, are designed to reduce its impact on neighbours and improve residents’ living conditions.

Plans for a 91-home facility were unveiled by Enfield Council in May last year. The scheme will provide affordable housing for older people, helping them to live independently while ensuring they have access to round-the-clock care.

The proposals were subsequently revised in response to residents’ concerns, reducing the number of homes on the scheme to 70. Enfield’s cabinet members approved the changes in July, and they were presented to a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday.

Planning officer Gideon Whittingham told the committee that distances between the proposed part-three, part-four storey building and neighbouring properties, including Winchmore Hill School and Barrowell Green Recycling Centre, had been increased.

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He added that the height of the planned scheme had been reduced to the north and south, which would allow more sunlight into the central courtyard.

Gideon said all flats would be “fully dual aspect”, which would increase daylight and provide better access to fresh air. Ground floor units will have access to garden space, while those on the upper floors will have balconies.

The planning officer assured the committee the scheme was in line with “secured by design principles”, which are designed to reduce crime, with CCTV, boundary measures and staff on site all day.

He said parking spaces had been reduced from 25 to 17, and cycle and scooter parking would also be available. Gideon explained that more detail had been added to the brickwork on the building to provide “more visual interest”.

Planning committee chair Sinan Boztas said: “I would seriously welcome the changes. It is very clear it is going to be a nice, high-quality design.”

Mike Rye, a Conservative committee member, said the design was a “significant improvement on what we had before” and suggested it would be better for neighbours than a housing scheme, which would be a “taller and more intensive” use of the site.

The revised plans for the extra care facility were unanimously approved by members of the committee.

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