A DECISION to throw out plans to build retirement apartments in Ledbury has been overturned. 

McCarthy and Stone Retirement Lifestyles Ltd has been successful in its appeal against Herefordshire Council's decision to refuse planning permission for the build at Green Acres, The Homend. 

The now-greenlit development will see existing buildings bulldozed and the new retirement living apartments built. 

Work will also be carried out to ensure there is access to the site along with car parking spaces and landscaping. 

Plans to build a 53-home retirement complex off The Homend in Ledbury were submitted to the council in September 2022 but refused last October. 

Controversy over the mooted development site stems from its tag as a local green space, the impact any development would have on biodiversity and whether the site was part of the land where legendary poet John Masefield was born. 

The Ledbury Neighbourhood Development Plan identifies the appeal site as a local green space. 

The plan's policy states the loss of such spaces should only be permitted if it can be shown to be surplus to requirements for recreational purposes.

If the value of its visual, historical and community attributes are considered to be outweighed by the benefits of the development, the site can also be built on.

The council felt the loss of the green space would alter the character of the town. 

The report said: "Whilst it is clear that, apart from the building to be demolished, the appeal site has remained undeveloped, the legibility of the development of the settlement would remain. 

"Street patterns and the change in character from commercial to residential would not be altered by the construction of retirement apartments."

The report added that although the mooted building would be substantially larger than the existing one and nearby residential building, it would only be visible from public roads and rights of way in a glimpse down the proposed access. 

The council also raised objections to the proposed development potentially removing the site as a 'stepping-stone for biodiversity.' 

However, the planning inspector ruled in favour of the development, feeling it would not harm biodiversity on or using the site.

Some campaigners also felt the site formed part of the gardens of the Knapp, a detached house and garden where legendary poet John Masefield was born. 

The inspector said: "It appeared to me that the gardens were well bound by landscaping, somewhat separating them from the undeveloped appeal site." 

The report also felt the development would bring economic benefits and said the type of accommodation would help those living locally live independently for longer. 

The council revised one of the reasons it originally refused planning permission, highway safety, and withdrew its defence for this reason.