An application to build a brain injury unit and nine affordable houses in Upminster has been submitted.

The plans, received by Havering Council on June 7 from Enable Care, propose building on derelict scrubland to the south of St Mary’s Lane in Upminster.

Enable Care provides nursing and rehabilitation services for people who live with acquired brain injuries (ABI) and other complex neurological conditions, according to its website.

The proposal details a three-story ABI unit which would have 32 bedrooms and supporting facilities, including day rooms and therapy areas.

Nine one-storey affordable residential units have also been proposed, with eight three-bed or five-person units and one accessible two-bed or four-person home.

The plans state: “Currently, the site stands as undeveloped and leftover land on the south side of St Mary’s Lane in Upminster.

“The open space land has very little benefit within the Green Belt and contributes little as amenity to the local community.”

This comes after a 2017 planning application for a care home and brain injury clinic (P0125.17) was unsuccessful because its scale was deemed unsympathetic to the local character of the Cranham Conversation area and “harmful" to the Green Belt.

This new application has proposed a smaller ABI unit concealed by a “dense tree line along the southern boundary” in a bid to address these issues.

A total of 36 parking bays have been proposed, with the same number of cycle spaces. Five disabled parking spaces have been suggested.

Development is proposed to begin in March next year and end in September 2024.

A decision should be made by September 9.

To view the application, head to Havering Council’s planning portal with reference P0928.22.