Contentious plans for 18 retirement apartments in a Monmouthshire village have been recommended for approval by council planners.
The scheme proposes demolishing an existing property in Greenfields, Merthyr Road, to make way for apartments with a courtyard, swimming pool and gym.
The accommodation will serve people aged over 60 and will include communal facilities, a minimum of two hours care per week for residents and provision for private external 24-hour care if required.
But the application has been met with 55 objections from residents, while Llanfoist Community Council has also called for it to be rejected.
Objectors say the development would be “a blot on the landscape and an eyesore to an already over-developed village which is losing its identity”.
Concerns have been voiced over the scheme increasing traffic and pollution.
There are also worries over parking issues, the scheme being “out of keeping” with the area and “over development”.
Llanfoist Community Council says the scale and height of the design is “not considered acceptable and/or sensitive for a development at the centre of Llanfoist”.
Community councillors say the village has “already reached a development saturation point”.
The plans include closing off the existing access for vehicles to and from Merthyr Road, with a new pedestrian and vehicular access being provided off Gypsy Lane.
Twenty-one parking spaces are proposed to serve the homes, which include 16 two-bedroom and two one-bedroom apartments.
The scale of the development has been “significantly reduced” since a previous application was submitted to the council.
A planning report recommending approval says the development is “considered to be small scale and will have a limited impact on the area in terms of additional pressure on local services”.
“The development is of high standard of design and it would not have an unacceptable visual appearance on the area,” the report says.
“The development would not cause any loss of amenity for local residents.
“Access, parking and traffic generation have also been considered and deemed to be acceptable by the council’s highway officers.”
Monmouthshire County Council’s planning committee will decide the application at a meeting on Tuesday.
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