LONG-considered plans to build a care home within the grounds of a golf course have been recommended for approval.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's (BDBC) Development Control Committee is due to decide on plans to build a 120-bed care home at Bishopswood Golf Course, in Bishopswood Lane, Tadley, at a meeting on Wednesday, September 6.

The proposal was first submitted in September 2015 and in the interim has attracted a host of opposition, but BDBC planning chiefs have recommended to councillors the application should be approved, subject to legal agreements, at the meeting next week.

A report from planning officers on the application reads: "It is considered that the principle of development at the site can be accepted.

"The proposal would result in notable socio-economic benefits to the local area in terms of providing a residential and day care facility and a notable number of jobs direct and indirectly from the development.

"In addition the proposals would subsidise the continuation and expansion of the golf club, which itself has planning permission for a hotel and conference facility."

If approved, the home would be situated on a section of currently woodland between holes two and three of the golf course, with access via Bishopswood Lane from the west.

The home, spread over two and three storeys, would have an accompanying car park and be aimed at caring for older people with physical and/ or mental conditions.

Overall, 58 letters of objection have been received by BDBC with a petition of 48 signatures against the development also received, while 10 letters of support have been submitted.

In calling the application in to be heard by councillors, ward councillor Jonathan Richards wrote: "This is a large development in the Tadley Centre ward which is causing major concerns ward residents and has given rise a large number of objections.

"Road access and pedestrian access to the proposed care home appear to be completely inadequate, taking into account the narrowness of Bishopswood Lane at the proposed entrance. I am also concerned about the size of the proposed care home, which in turn would lead to a volume of traffic unsuitable for such a small road as Bishopswood Lane.

"I also have doubts about the adequacy of the existing Tadley infrastructure to support a care home of this size, most notably medical services, which are currently over-stretched."

Cllr Robert Tate, who represents Baughurst and Tadley North, Tadley Town Council and Baughurst Parish Council have also all objected to the proposals.

A summary in the meeting report of an assessment made by the applicant of the need for care homes places reads: "The population of people aged 65 years plus within the catchment area is set to increase from 8,000 persons in 2012 to 11,700 by 2027 – an increase of 3,700 in the next 15 years.

"There were 900 people 85 years plus within the catchment in 2012 and this is set to increase to 1,700 by 2027. This age group has the highest propensity for dementia and the highest likelihood to require long term residential care.

"By 2027, assuming no other developments come forward, there is a projected shortage of up to 308 bed spaces in the catchment area."

The meeting, open to the public, is to be held from 6.30pm at the BDBC offices in London Road.