Comberton retirement village branded "senior ghetto" rejected

Plans to build a new retirement complex in Comberton have been turned down.

Plans were submitted to South Cambridgeshire District Council by Endurance Estates (Comberton) Ltd to build the new community on land off Branch Road.

The developer proposed to create 200 extra care units alongside a range of other facilities, such as a cafe, restaurant, meeting and activity space, treatment rooms, clinical treatment space, a gym, swimming pool, and fitness studio, which they said would also be open to the rest of the village.

It argued the plans would meet a "significant need for older person housing" and provide "once in a generation" investment into Comberton.

However, concerns were raised about the impact hundreds of older people moving to the village would have on the GP surgery and other services.

Councillor Peter Sandford:

"According to Google, the current population of Comberton is 2,200 and a significant number of those are already over 65.

"Add another 300 seniors and you are talking about a village that is 30, 40 per cent over 65, it’s creating a senior ghetto.

"We definitely need to be looking at smaller facilities closer to the villages around the district, not dumping everyone onto one smallish village, that is not the way to go."

When a decision was put to a vote, the councillors agreed unanimously to reject the application.