Retirement flats plan for Kettering village

Clayson Country Homes has applied to create a block of 31 apartments for the over 55s on land off Hawthorn Avenue in the village.

The site was originally earmarked for a pub and had been marketed but has not been brought forward.

Plans say apartments in the V-shaped scheme, which will be of a similar scale to the nearby GP surgery, will be either one-bed or two-bed and there will be 32 car parking spaces.

The applicants have held previous meetings with villagers and say the plans have generally gone down well.

Talking about a previous meeting, a planning document said: “Proposals from residents [for the site] included housing, a pub, gymnasium and leaving the site as open space for public use, however the most popular proposal was that of retirement flats and was suggest by numerous residents.

“Many of the residents explained that they soon wished to downsize but wanted to stay in the village and the community, yet there are currently few options for them to do so as the majority of the housing in Mawsley is family housing.”

The document added: “At the conclusion of the meeting it was felt that there were no other viable alternatives put forward for the site and the proposal for retirement accommodation was what the majority of residents wanted to see delivered on the site.”

They say the apartments will be well placed for those who will live there, with the nearest bust stop one minute away by foot and the village centre two minutes away.

Clayson Country Homes also say they are willing to provide air conditioning for the village’s community centre as part of the bid.

A decision could be made by April 24.