Plans for a 74-room care home to be built in Bobbing have been approved.

The proposals for the former NHS Southlands Assessment Centre in Rook Lane, next to Demelza Hospice Care for Children, were narrowly agreed by Swale council’s Planning Committee on Thursday, October 11.

The vote was tied at eight in favour and the same against, with committee chairman Cllr Bryan Mulhern (Con) having the casting vote and going with the officer recommendation to approve.

The applicant – Graham Land and Development – will have to pay £36,000 in a planning agreement for health services.

Owner, Ernie Graham, said: “We need to demolish the building that is already there.

“That needs to have consent from the council. We are hoping for the building stage to take about 15 to 18 months.”

The home will be run by Mr Graham’s firm, The Graham Care Group, which already has five homes in Kent and another in Surrey.

Opponents of the plans, including Bobbing Parish Council, had concerns including how the home would look and its impact on traffic. Parish council chairman Graham Herbert, said: “It was the scale and the size of the building. It was a bit out of character with everything else in the area. The extra traffic that will come from a 74-bed care home on to the A2 was also a concern.

“The A2 Keycol Hill is the primary route once the M2 is shut. It takes an awful lot of traffic and already has pollution problems.”

He added: “Before there was an application for some houses and we thought that was quite acceptable.

Mr Graham, speaking after the permission was granted, added: “We can understand people’s concerns. We want to work with residents and we want to be able to be good neighbours.”