PLANS to transform Henley College into a retirement village have been given the go-ahead.
Warwickshire College announced in September it would be closing its Henley campus due to ever-dwindling student numbers.
The site has been part of the group since 2003 was able to offer up to 900 places on a variety of courses, including hair and beauty and sports studies. But over recent years less than a third of the places have been filled.
Bosses say the sale of the Grade-II listed Arden House and its grounds will help towards the cost of transferring the courses to the group’s Moreton Morrell and Leamington sites.
The approved plans, submitted by RCA Regeneration, include converting Arden House to 12 apartments and building 31
new retirement homes, together with a care home with communal lounges, dining room, laundry, consulting rooms in the grounds.
The redevelopment will have to keep the onsite sports pitches in use, improve traffic access and put parking restrictions in place so neighbours are not affected.
Developers will also make a £30,000 contribution towards improving road safety at the Warwick Road and Stratford Road junction.
Stratford District Council planning committee chairman Mark Cargill described the transformation of the college an ‘innovative scheme’.
