Former Ampthill police station could become retirement village

McCarthy & Stone, a retirement housebuilder, has submitted a planning application to Central Bedfordshire Council to replace the site on Woburn Street with ‘retirement living apartments’.

McCarthy & Stone is proposing to redevelop the site with 30 one and two-bedroom apartments for people in later life, along with a lounge, mobility scooter storage and landscaped gardens.

Over 2,000 households and local businesses were invited to a public exhibition in October last year, where they could view the proposed plans and have their questions answered by the project team.

A spokesperson for McCarthy & Stone, said: “The public exhibition was an excellent opportunity for us to talk with the local community regarding our proposals for this site.

“I would like to thank everybody that has been in contact and supplied us with their feedback.

“Given the nature of this type of development, there will be no additional impact on local services and there are lower levels of car ownership and traffic generation.

“Our research finds that a majority of our homeowners move from within a five mile radius of their new home, which frees up local housing stock for young families.”

It is anticipated that the local over-85s population will double over the next 20 years, and McCarthy & Stone believes that this proposed development will go some way to meeting a current and future demand.

The application has now been submitted and is under review by Central Bedfordshire Council.

Residents that have any further comments, visit the project website www.mccarthyandstoneconsultation.co.uk/ampthill.