Former police station to be demolished under revised plans to build supported living apartments in Southam
REVISED plans to build supported living apartments at Southam police station have been submitted by a specialist accessible accommodation developer.
Altrincham-based HBV Group, which purchased the site after it was put up for sale by Warwickshire’s police and crime commissioner Philip Seccombe in 2018, had tabled a proposal to retain the police station façade and build 20 one-bedroom apartments for adults with learning and physical difficulties.
New communal open spaces, staff sleep-in facilities, landscaping and ten parking spaces were also included in the plans, which were later withdrawn. HBV Group told the Herald in September they had hoped to submit a revised scheme at the end of October but the amending of reports had taken a little longer than expected.
Under the new plans, the whole of the police station will be demolished and there will be 21 supported living apartments instead of 20.
These will be managed and operated by Radis Community Care and Inclusion Housing. There will also be new communal open spaces, staff sleep-in facilities, landscaping and ten parking spaces, just like in the original scheme.
A HBV Group spokesperson told the Herald: “While the old police station is not a listed building, the existing layout of the building meant we could not configure what is required for specialist supported housing.
“We want to create housing that is spacious and fully accessible. As the old police station has thick walls and cells, [the original scheme] just would not have worked.
“After negotiations with Warwickshire County Council, we have designed a scheme to accommodate the needs of the individuals these apartments will house.”
Cllr Tony Bromwich (Ind, Southam North) said the revised application was “not significantly” different from the original proposals, adding: “It has failed to address parking issues, it has failed to address the lack of amenity space, it has failed to address any of the previous objections.
“It should also be pointed out that I failed to mention on my previous objection that there is full planning consent for a facility for young adults at the nearby site of the convent.
“This would certainly lead to an excessive amount of special needs accommodation in Southam town centre and lead to a loss of potential other enhancements which could be used for the site and certainly further discourage any further regeneration of the town centre which is a need as identified in the current core strategy.
“The application could have an impact on the local pub trade because of potential noise impacts and having worked with teenagers and young adults with autism, ADHD and Asperger’s, many are sensitive to noise.”
