Flats planned for old school playing field
BBCRetirement flats could be built on the site of an old school playing field if plans go ahead.
McCarthy and Stone has submitted plans for 36 one and two-bedroom apartments on the old playing field of Bramdean School, in Exeter, which closed in 2020.
The developers said there was a "real need" for the accommodation in Exeter "with an ageing population and limited specialist accommodation for local older people to downsize to".
More than 120 people have objected to the plans, citing concerns over the loss of green space and claims the development would be out of keeping with the character of the area.
The plans state there would also be "shared facilities" including "a communal lounge and landscaped gardens, a hotel style guest suite for when friends and family come to stay, dedicated car parking and a mobility scooter store".
McCarthy and Stone said the site was "well located to provide a much-needed development for retirement accommodation" and it had good transport links.
The plans were revised at the end of October, including changes to the entrance and the introduction of a permissive path through the site.
The Exeter City Council member for the area, Lucy Haigh, Independent, has objected to the plans.
She said the site had been a "natural buffer" between homes and claimed the new path "feels more like a token gesture than a genuine attempt at community inclusion".
Exeter City Council's planning committee is due to meet to discuss the development but no date has yet been agreed.
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