Residents fighting plans for a large extension to a Criccieth nursing home say they have not been given enough time to prepare their case, writes Gareth Hughes.

Today (Monday), Gwynedd Council’s planning committee will consider an application by the owners of The Pines Home in Ffordd Penpader – between the town centre and the seafront – for a two-storey extension providing 20 extra bedrooms.

The home is currently registered to accommodate 38 elderly residents, many of whom suffer from dementia.

In 2018 the home was featured in a programme on S4C which raised concerns about the standards of care and record-keeping, and inspectors subsequently found four non-compliancy issues. Following a subsequent visit, the home was given a clean bill of health.

Criccieth Town Council has objected to the latest proposal, which also includes an extension to the car park and moving a biomass boiler, and about 50 objections have been lodged by residents in nearby Mona Terrace, Tanygrisiau Terrace and Wellington Terrace.

One of their main long-standing concerns is noise. The owners have promised to install ventilators in each of the new rooms which would mean the windows need not be opened.

But one of the objectors said: “We often hear the residents screaming and the ventilators presumably will not be installed in the existing building, so the noise will continue.

“We know that beds are badly needed but feel very strongly that this is an over-intensive development in such a sensitive area. Many of our properties are listed,” she added.

Officers are recommending that permission be granted, and the report to members states: “The extensions are substantial, however, due to the existing size of the site and location, the proposal’s size and design, it is considered that the extensions do not appear oppressive compared to the existing buildings and are not oppressive in the landscape.”

Local residents say they learned only last week that the application is being considered today, and with the meeting being held remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions, one objector has been invited to speak.

“It’s been suggested that we submit a video with our objections, but we don’t have the time or the expertise to do that in such a short time,” said one of the objectors.

“We have asked for the matter to be deferred for a month, but the council has refused.”

Gwynedd Council has been asked to comment.Update: The application has now been deferred. See our story - https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=134991&headline=Residents