A care home in Willian has been given the green light to go ahead with its redevelopment.

North Herts Council's planning committee approved plans last week for Guysfield Residential Home to knock down part of its existing building off Willian Road and replace it with a new 70-bedroom, four-storey building.

The original building on the site, just south of Letchworth Garden City, is Victorian but was extended in 1986 when the care home use began.

Under the latest plans, the original building will be maintained and used as offices, while the extensions will be demolished and replaced with a new detached building. 

Councillors unanimously agreed to grant planning permission to the development.

Cllr Ruth Brown said the proposed building looks "less in keeping" with the original building than the current extension, but added that "we desperately need more care home spaces".

Concerns about the design were also raised by Cllr Clare Billing, though she said she supported the development in principle.

Two public speakers, Michael Stoddard and Martin Drake, spoke to oppose the application, citing the design of the new building.

Mr Stoddard said the new care home would not "respect the original character of the building", while its windows would be "reminiscent of a Soviet municipal building" rather than a "fine Victorian villa".

Mr Drake, meanwhile, described the new building as an "eyesore" and said: "The proposal conjures up images of an open prison, not a care home in a tiny village in the home counties of England."

Douglas Bond, representing applicant Caring Homes, said the plans had the backing of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation and continued: "The existing home is no longer fit for purpose.

"It is of poor quality, does not meet modern-day requirements that the residents rightly deserve, and is no longer financially viable, making a material loss over the last five years.

"An option to refurbish the existing home to an appropriate quality would result in a home of only 29 bedrooms – that would be too small to be viable."

Mr Bond said the proposals would create an additional twenty bedrooms above the current number, and that existing residents would either be relocated to another Caring Homes property in St Albans or supported with a move to a care home run by a different provider.

While the site is within the Green Belt, planning officers determined that, under recent changes to national planning policy, it should be classed as Grey Belt land.

Council officers, who recommended approval for the application, said there is "a demonstrable unmet need for suitable accommodation for older people".