Plans for a care home expansion were approved this week despite residents’ concerns that it would put a significant strain on nearby roads and would produce "unpleasant smells".

Epping Forest District Council granted permission for Forest Place care home in Roebuck Lane, Buckhurst Hill, to create another 75 rooms at a planning meeting on Wednesday (25 November).

The proposal also intends to increase full time staff by 82 per cent.

The redevelopment will require large parts of the existing building to be demolished, and will include a two-storey car park and one four-storey building.

As well as the issues raised regarding increased traffic and "unpleasant smells from kitchens", objectors also claimed that the high building and car park would be "unsightly, inadequate and incompatible with the residential street".

Despite objections, local GPs and St Margaret’s Hospital backed the plans and said: “There is a need for the development in the locality and a need to better manage the complex needs of older people.”