A care home which hoped to add 12 bedrooms due to higher demand following the Covid pandemic has had its plans refused due to privacy and aesthetic concerns. 

Ashling House in Hornchurch was looking to add the bedrooms, plus two new bathrooms and one entertainment room, after experiencing an increase in applications over the last couple of years. 

Submitted by EC Romford Holdings, which owns Ashling House, the documents outlined other potential benefits including local employment and saving the NHS thousands by supporting people outside of hospital. 

The recent decision by Havering Council however deemed the proposed extension to be an “unacceptably dominant and visually intrusive feature”, adding that it would “cause overlooking and loss of privacy” for a nearby home. 

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Following the refusal, general manager and owner, Nir Shamir, said: “Ashling House is a working care home. Adding rooms to the building will reduce the acute shortage in such facilities and help to reduce pressure from local hospitals who are struggling to release beds from long term people that care home can be the solution for.” 

He added the architect who worked on the application is to call the planning officer to consult on potentially resubmitting. 

View the application on Havering Council’s planning portal using the reference P1559.22.