Controversial plans for a care home have been approved by councillors.

Epsom Council’s planning committee last night considered a second planning application submitted to it to build a care home with 150 rooms on Nescot college’s animal husbandry land on Reigate Road, Ewell.

The Goodman Group, which submitted the application, has also been appealing to the Planning Inspectorate after Epsom Council rejected its original plans for being "overbearing" and "bulky" with insufficient parking and no affordable homes.

The developer said that in the revised plans, the building is set further back from the main roads and more trees have been added.

But many residents remain concerned about its size, traffic, parking issues and loss of green space.

Council officers had recommended the application for approval and said it aimed to address the difficulties which were raised about the first application – issues of scale, height and mass.

The application was approved by councillors by eight votes to three.

In June, Nescot received planning permission for 91 homes on the rest of the 14-acre site.  It plans to sell the land for the development to fund renovations to its campus.

Speaking in favour of the application at last night’s meeting, Simon Webster, managing director of the Goodman Group UK, said: "We have listened to the local community and taken some time to re-think and re-plan.

"This is not just another care home.

"We would like to develop and operate a unique senior living community."

He added: "We know the community have reservations over the first application but the application before you tonight is a sincere attempt to address this.

"High quality design and outstanding care will be provided for the local community."

Mr Webster said the Goodman Group had introduced "a more domestic feel to the design" of the care home and reanalysed the issue of car parking and found that "parking problems will not occur in surrounding roads".

He said a "broad spectrum of care needs" would be accommodated by the care home and that the people living there would play an active role in the community.

Debating the planning application, Councillor David Mayall said: "I don’t really see much that’s changed in this property.

"It’s still a massive, massive development.

"By moving it 4m one way and 2m another, I’m still concerned."

Councillor Sheila Carlson agreed: "I don’t think very much has changed.

"It’s going to be a very expensive, private care home.

"Just because this committee granted permission for residential development on one part of the site doesn’t meant there is any principle for development on the rest of the site.

"I don’t think that sets a precedent."

But Councillor David Wood said the planning application had "moved in the right direction".

He added: "I am sure we would all like the fields to still be there with the horses and the pigs but that’s not the world we are living in. There has been some improvement.

"We have got to look at the realism we are dealing which is planning law rather than what we would all like.

"All in all we have something here we are going to have to reluctantly accept."

Councillor Graham Dudley said: "It’s difficult to think that having developed the first part of the site we are not going to develop the second part.

"It will generate far less traffic then it would if we simply built more houses on that part of the site. That’s an important factor that we ought to take into account."

Following last night’s approval of the plans, Brian Angus, chairman of Ewell Village Residents’ Association, said: "I’m afraid it was always inevitable that bit of land would be developed even though we think of it as a valuable piece of greenbelt land.

"It’s not greenbelt land. It doesn’t have that protection.

"As you drive along the bypass you will be very aware of this big building looming over the landscape.

"It’s already an overstretched part of the road network and it has more than its share of KSI (killed or seriously injured) accidents and there will be a great deal of extra traffic generated."

Stuart Seymour, who lives opposite the site in Reigate Road, said the result was "odds-on".

"We are not happy but we got the best that we can hope for," he said.

"We don’t think it’s the right place to put a care home. We are resigned.

"But we feel we have had a minor victory from where we started."

Mr Webster said the Goodman Group is "very pleased" with last night's decision.

"Our senior living community will provide a much needed high-quality living environment for the local ageing population," he added.

"We are very excited at the partnership opportunity with Nescot College and other local organisations."