DESIGNS for a new care home in St Albans are too overbearing, a planning committee decided this week. The application by Sunrise Senior Living to build a new high-quality Assisted Living care home for older people on London Road was refused at a meeting o

DESIGNS for a new care home in St Albans are too overbearing, a planning committee decided this week.

The application by Sunrise Senior Living to build a new high-quality Assisted Living care home for older people on London Road was refused at a meeting on Monday night.

The application for the three storey building, complete with landscaped grounds, was first turned down in 2008 because of the building's scale. But despite altering the plans to improve the appearance of the frontage, planning officers decided that it was still too imposing for the area.

Planning portfolio holder for the district council Cllr Chris Brazier said that the design would be out of place in London Road: "The roof line was too high, it needed more separation between neighbouring buildings and we were concerned about the car parking situation. Basically, the main reason for refusal was over-development."

He added: "But St Albans is in need of more care homes so I suggest that Sunrise Senior Living take on board what was said at the meeting and come back at a later date with a more appropriate design."

But, although he expected the refusal, regional development manager at Sunrise Senior Living Jeremy Baker said: "We're comfortable with the design and are confident that our proposals, alongside our extensive landscaping scheme, would actually add to the street scene.