Appeal filed in bid to build brain injury unit in Upminster

An appeal has been lodged after a proposal to build a rehabilitation centre for patients with brain injuries was refused by Havering Council.

A planning application was made by Enable Care, a private care provider, in December 2022 to build a 32-bedroom acquired brain injury (ABI) unit and an area of public open space near St Mary’s Lane in Upminster.

It was turned down on the grounds of it being an “inappropriate development” in the region.

The council’s planning sub-committee previously said that the site is located in the green belt and construction of new dwellings on it can only be permitted in “most exceptional circumstances.”

The benefits arising from the proposal, they added, do not “outweigh the harm” of developing a protected land.

The plan would have a “harmful impact” on the character and appearance of the open space owing to its bulk and massing, resulting in “unsympathetic, visually intrusive development”, the sub-committee said.

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The proposal was also found to have not complied with policies to promote sustainable development as details on energy efficiency, drainage, air quality and noise were not adequately specified.

Residents had earlier sent objections to the plans including loss of light, increase in traffic and the construction dominating the skyline.

The view of nearby All Saints Church, some said, would be obstructed by the building.

A planning statement on behalf of Enable Care claimed there is an “acute shortage” of ABI units across the country.

It said that ABI patients sometimes need to be housed in a residential setting instead of nursing homes for their rehabilitation.

This was a third attempt made by the group in the last few years to get council approval for its plans.

Enable Care previously applied in June 2022 after its first proposal was refused in April 2017.

The proposal in June also included some ‘affordable’ housing units, but it was turned down in October 2022 for not being appropriate for the green belt.

The new plan, rejected in April this year, excludes the housing units, and instead offers a public open space that can be accessed via a new footpath.

In addition, it includes a wellbeing garden for patients, car and cycle parking spaces, a dedicated refuse storage and a sustainable urban drainage system.

Enable Care has now appealed against this rejection and the council’s website says this will be decided following a local inquiry.