A ST JOHN Ambulance station and two bungalows will be bulldozed to make way for 31 homes under plans by a convent.

The community of St Mary the Virgin in Denchworth Road, Wantage, is looking to sell the land it owns in neighbouring Naldertown, and the Grade II listed convent itself, and move to a smaller site out of town.

The community trustees and their planning agent Paul Butt, of Marcham, have now submitted their planning application to build houses on the 2.4-acre Naldertown site.

The scheme submitted to Vale of White Horse District Council would see 20 homes built for the open market and 11 to be run by a housing association.

The current residents of the bungalows rented from the convent now face eviction.

Jane Mercer-Rolls has lived in one of the bungalows for 30 years with husband Gordon, a gardener at the convent.

The mother-of-five said: “The first letter we got about it put us all into shock. It is our home and we would have liked to have stayed, but we are sympathetic with their need to move as well.”

Mrs Mercer-Rolls, 54, said she was most concerned about the future of the ambulance station, which she was a “vital” service for Wantage.

Accountant Alastair Hunter, who is acting as the sisters’ agent, promised the tenants would treated fairly. He said: “There is no question of them being turfed out overnight. The trustees will make sure anyone who has to move will be given plenty of notice.”

It is not yet clear what St John Ambulance volunteers would do after losing their base, but in the planning application Mr Butt said that they could move to the former civic hall, the Beacon centre.

He added: “Whilst there will always be impacts arising from development, in this case the impacts are not significant and in the planning balance are clearly outweighed by the benefits associated with the application. The loss of Aberclare, Cedarholme [the bungalows] and the St John Ambulance hall is not considered to be significant.”

About 20 sisters now live at the convent which was built in 1848 to house 150 by the-then Vicar of Wantage William John Butler.

They are now looking for a building to move to within a 100-mile radius.

It is thought that the convent and other listed buildings will be converted into flats.

The plans are online at whitehorsedc.gov.uk until June 3.

The Vale is due to make a final decision by July 30.