A new three-storey care home is to be built against the wishes of a council after the plans were allowed on appeal.

Canterbury City Council (CCC) refused Aspire LLP’s bid to construct a 75-bed facility off Old Thanet Way, Whitstable, in March last year.

But the developers appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate - arguing CCC was wrong to turn down the scheme - and the local authority’s decision has now been overturned.

Situated near the town’s Tesco Extra store, developers claimed building the facility on a currently empty field would bring “significant benefits” to the district.

However, CCC refused permission for the 13m high building, arguing it would lead to “the loss of protected open space which would be detrimental to the visual amenity of the locality, with the benefits not outweighing this harm”.

The authority also said Aspire LLP had not provided enough information to prove the development would not damage local biodiversity, lead to increased flood risk, and that the site was not big enough to accommodate the care home.

But in September, the firm appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, and it took six months to quash CCC’s refusal.

During the appeal, it was agreed Aspire LLP will contribute almost £13,000 to the council to support the delivery of open space elsewhere - due to the loss of open space from this application.

Aspire LLP also applied separately for CCC to pay its costs, but a spokesman for the council confirmed this was dismissed.

However, defending the case did cost CCC £5,000.

A spokesman explained: "The Inspector agreed with us that the land adjacent to the Thanet Way has positive amenity value for local residents and acts as a buffer alongside the road.

"As such, the Inspector accepted that the loss of open space would be contrary to our planning policies.

"However, the Inspector considered that the applicant had provided highly specific and compelling evidence for the need for the development.

"The Inspector concluded, overall, that the harm caused by the loss of open space would be outweighed by the need for a registered care accommodation both in the immediate locality as well as the district as a whole."

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Chris Podd, operations director at Aspire LLP, said the company is “delighted” its appeal has been allowed.

“The Inspector confirmed the critical district-wide need, with a shortfall at the time of assessment of 274 en-suite bedrooms,” he said.

“This planning approval affirms our commitment to delivering new purpose-built care homes with a key focus on sustainability, environmental protection, and community impact. Construction is set to commence in late 2025.”