RELATIVES of elderly residents living in a sheltered housing complex at Lamerton this week claimed plans to extend the care home will 'wreck the integrity' of the Grade II listed site.

But the owner of Venn House says the extension will actually bring benefits to all on the site.

Opponents of the 26-bed extension to the coach house claim the peace and amenity of the residents in the Orchard Cottages will be blighted and part of the Jacobean orchard will be destroyed.

Kate Newman, who has a family member living at the Venn House complex, said: 'The proposed extension will completely dominate the Orchard Cottages. We thought an extension meant a lean-to but this is absolutely enormous, it's three times bigger than the existing coach house.'

The coach house currently houses nine residents and there are 16 leaseholders in the cottages. The main house accommodates another 13 residents.

Mrs Newman said residents in the cottages could look out onto the orchard and their deeds stated that they could walk in the garden and have quiet enjoyment of it. It was one of the main reasons why they bought the properties.

'It's very tranquil and the orchard is a beautiful part of this Jacobean site. If this extension goes ahead it will block the view from the windows.

'This is one of only a few care homes that are attractively sited and this enormous building is going to wreck the integrity of the place. It's very worrying to the people who live here who are the most vulnerable members of the community.'

Another concerned resident Jude Roberts said the proposed extension was unsuitable for such an historic site: 'Venn House is one of the main period buildings of Lamerton and the whole character of it will just vanish forever. The poor access is also going to be extremely dangerous with all the extra traffic.'

Agent Peter Rowan said the application had been submitted following long discussions with English Heritage and with planning officers, who supported the proposal in principle.

'The extension has been designed in accordance with the requirements of English Heritage with regard to the Listed building,' he said.

Mr Rowan said Orchard Cottages were arranged in a horseshoe shape and only a few of the cottages would look onto the new extension from one side of their property.

Owner of Venn House and director of Venn Care Limited, John Widders, said the coach house would be for nursing care and the main house would remain as a residential home.

He said: 'Basically, a care home has to be 30 beds plus to be efficient and in turn the rates will be better.

'This will be a top notch, purpose-built care home in an area which does not have many of these facilities.'

Mr Widders said the extension did not impinge on the listed building and the garden was not part of the listing.

He had sent a four-page letter to each of the residents keeping them abreast of events.

'This will be good for the prosperity of the site and the more we prosper, the better it will be for everyone living here.

'We will be making paths around the place so wheelchair access will be improved and there will be lots of other benefits for the Orchard Cottage residents, including more on-site care options should the need arise.'

The owner said he did not expect there to be a large increase in visitors but any concerns about highways would be raised by the highways authority.

The application will be determined early in the New Year.