DEVELOPERS who were thwarted in their plans for an old people’s home in a village near York are now aiming to build houses on the site.

Bonnycroft LLP’s proposals for a 60-bedroom care facility in Strensall were blocked last year by City of York Council, with a subsequent appeal failing to overturn the decision.

Now the firm has drawn up a fresh planning application for the Princess Road site, which, if it succeeds, would see 14 homes being created, after the firm said it had taken on board the reasons for the care home scheme being refused.

Ten of the homes on the land, which is currently occupied by derelict buildings, would be two-storey properties, and the scheme also includes four three-storey townhouses.

But objections have already been raised by local residents.

The proposals for a three-storey old people’s home were rejected last year after planning inspector Karen McCabe, who dealt with Bonnycroft’s appeal, said they were “intrusive”.

In a statement submitted to the council, Bonnycroft’s agents, McNicholas Architects, said: “The proposed residential development addresses the issues raised in the [planning] inspector’s appeal decision in relation to a proposed care home on the site.

“The inspector took the view that the care home would appear as a dominant feature in the local environment, out of scale with surrounding residential properties.

“Living conditions of neighbours would, in the inspector’s view, have been adversely affected by the dominant and overbearing nature of the development.

“The implications of this decision have been key in the design of the residential scheme.”

Among the objectors to the new scheme is Strensall resident Philip Brown, who said: “It is overdevelopment of the site, does not reflect the character of the area, is poor in design terms and is unacceptable in terms of loss of privacy, light and amenity.”

However, North Yorkshire Police’s architectural liaison officer Jim Shanks, who is among those to be consulted on the plans, said he felt the development would provide “a safe, non-threatening environment”, while Network Rail, which is responsible for a nearby level crossing, has made suggestions but raised no objections.