A proposal to replace a former medical centre with a block of flats has been rejected after the homes were branded “substandard”.

A planning application was submitted to Havering Council by Bellway Homes Ltd. (Thames Gateway) on August 17 to build 96 new flats on the site of the now shut Long Term Conditions Centre (LTCC) in Harold Wood Hospital on Copse Avenue.

The proposed development comprised of buildings between 2.5 to 5 storeys in height and had a mix of one, two ,three and four-bedroom homes. It also included 81 car parking spaces and 183 secure cycle spaces, with about 23% of the units offered for affordable housing.

The 1.22 hectare site was previously occupied by a part single/part two storey building on Harold Wood Hospital Campus. The hospital, which was built in 1909, was being used by Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS trust until it closed in 2006.

A planning statement attached to the application said that in October 2010 outline permission was granted for the redevelopment of the wider hospital campus aside from LTCC, to build 810 homes.

The work, it said, was completed in 2018 and the development is now known as Kings Park.

Read More: Harold Hill children’s centre to be closed permanently

The site of LTCC was, however, retained and used actively by the North East London NHS Foundation Trust before it shut down too. The statement said the existing building has since been boarded up.

Pre-application discussions were carried out by Bellway with the council in September 2021 following the housebuilder's acquisition of the site. The proposed scheme, the developer said in the statement, evolved and was designed in response to feedback provided by council officers.

The proposal was however rejected by the council in its decision on Friday (December 15) on several grounds. The council noted that the site layout resulted in rooms that would not provide a “attractive, safe, high-quality” living environment for future residents.

The pedestrian and cycle access suggested in the plans via Copse Avenue to the north was considered to be “disjointed and hostile”. In these respects, the council said the proposal offered “substandard” residential accommodation to the detriment of the amenity for occupiers.

The size of the proposed private garden areas for the houses was also found to not be commensurate with the type of accommodation being pitched.

In addition, the council believed that the development proposed the loss of a significant number of trees on site and questioned how the protected species of creatures present in the vicinity would be dealt with.

Overall, the council listed 12 major reasons for denying the application.

The Recorder has contacted Bellway for comments.