A soon-to-be-built retirement village in the centre of Didcot that is 'not needed' according to residents is now looking to add a top floor to its plans.

Churchill Retirement Living submitted a planning application for 28 retirement apartments on the former Georgetown filling station on the corner of Foxhall Road and Broadway in March of last year.

The 0.2-hectare site, where the former Shell station was demolished in 2018, had been proposed for a three-storey L-shaped building with an internal courtyard.

That application was approved on December 19 2022 but now the retirement home has applied to add a top floor to the building adding a further 5 apartments.

The new top floor would be in place of a proposed traditional pitch roof.

A planning document reads: “By removing the roof and instead introducing a setback top floor, the site can be developed more efficiently without increasing the scale or mass. The setback top floor also introduces terraces to the top floor, providing more amenity space which was a comment with the extant design.”

The designs also include terraces to the top floor and two extra car parking spaces.

However, residents were previously concerned the proposal was already an “over-development” and that Didcot has provisions for older people, objecting to the plans in April 2022

William Hornsey, of Bishops Orchard, said: “I think the development of this site is a missed opportunity towards a sustainable future for Didcot.

“As it was a fuel station my belief is that it should be redeveloped as a rapid charging station for electric vehicles as Didcot has very few rapid chargers.

“We don’t need another retirement home especially as two are being built at both ends of the town.”

Duncan Talbot, of Ernest Road, said: “An online survey said that Didcot was the 11th worst place to live in the UK. This plan shows both the best and worst of that statement.

“The best is updating a corner of land that has seen better days. The worst is an overdevelopment of that land.

“Perhaps the number of units could be reduced to reduce overdevelopment of the site.

“The plot suggests an impact on visibility for vehicles turning left from Foxhall Road into the Broadway and for pedestrians walking round the corner, particularly at peak times for school children - this is a major risk factor which requires serious attention.”

Darren Mobbs added: “Twenty-nine apartments but 10 car parking spaces and it's not very close for old people to walk to a bus stop.

“In the current situation it would be better returned to a petrol station especially with so much housing.

“Didcot already has an 80-bed care home at Great Western Park and the 65 bed at lower Broadway.”

Jayne Lawton, of Wheatfields, said: “I cannot believe that planning has been sought in this area for a building of this size.

“Twenty-nine bedrooms with only 10 parking spaces is absolutely ludicrous. This is over-development of what is really a small site. To the council, please think about declining planning permission and not what might be achieved in financial gain.”

With permission already granted for the 28 retirement apartments, Churchill Retirement Living invited suggestions for the name of new development with a £100 prize for the winning entry.

The competition closed on March 31 but the chosen name has not yet been revealed by the retirement developer.

The new development will feature privately-owned one and two-bedroom apartments in

Caroline Haswell, Churchill’s senior marketing manager, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing our new development to Didcot and have already seen lots of interest from local over 60s keen to discover the benefits of the independent retirement living lifestyle.

“Anyone interested in finding out more about the new development can register their interest now for updates and be among the first to find out when the apartments will be released for sale.”