A Purley retirement home will not be built after developers refused to include any affordable housing.

McCarthy & Stone submitted an application last year to build 26 apartments in 6-12 Woodcote Valley Road for people 60 years or older.

If approved, the current buildings would have been demolished to make way for the three-storey building.

But during the application process it became clear that the developers would not be including any affordable housing as part of the project.

This resulted in Croydon Council refusing the application.

"The applicant has submitted a viability assessment, which highlights that the scheme is not viable with a 50 per cent provision, citing high land values, CIL contributions and carbon offsetting costs that would make the proposal unviable producing a £67,027 deficit," The planning officer wrote in his report.

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"Despite the viability discussion, the applicant has maintained their position and confirmed no affordable housing would be delivered.

"Given that the scheme fails to deliver the minimum reasonable amount of on-site affordable housing at 15 per cent nor is there a commuted sum (equivalent to 15 per cent) offered the scheme would not meet the council's affordable housing policies and objectives and should be refused."

McCarthy and Stone was disappointed by the result.

The company's development director, Martin Brown said: “We are naturally disappointed with the officer’s decision to refuse our planning application on the grounds of affordable housing provision.

"The refusal of this application will hold back the delivery of 26 much-needed specialist retirement apartments in Purley, which is a recognised housing need of London Borough of Croydon Council.

"Our retirement developments provide older people with the opportunity to downsize to a property that is more manageable and suited to the needs of older age, whilst also enabling and encouraging our homeowners to have an enriched and active social lifestyle.

"With their own front doors and the privacy of their own apartments, our homeowners can socialise as much or as little as they wish, from coffee mornings to film nights, there is something for everyone.

"We worked closely with the planning officers at the council and local residents to bring forward a design that was sensitive to the character of the local area.

"We are still very much committed to bringing forward much-needed retirement accommodation to help meet the council’s identified housing needs, and will be reviewing our next steps in the coming weeks.”