Anchor's Blossom House in Edwalton is open: 80 social rent flats for over-55s, half already let. How to apply, and the 5-5 parking vote that let it be built.

Edwalton has 80 new flats for people aged 55 and over, all of them for social rent.

Blossom House, off Melton Road, was formally opened on Friday 9 October. Its developer, the not-for-profit housing provider Anchor, says local older people have already moved into half of the homes. The rest are still to be let.

Anchor built the block with Vistry. Homes England and Rushcliffe Borough Council attended the event, which also marked practical completion.

What has been built

Anchor’s listing for Blossom House gives the address as 2 Alexander Gardens, Edwalton, NG12 4NB. The building has:

  • one and two-bedroom flats: 31 one-bed and 49 two-bed, according to the planning papers;
  • a residents’ lounge and a guest suite for visiting family;
  • landscaped gardens;
  • two lifts, secure door entry and CCTV; and
  • a supporting manager and a 24-hour emergency call system.
The landscaped inner courtyard of Blossom House in Edwalton, with a circular wooden bench, hedged beds and three-storey red brick flats with balconies on three sides.
The courtyard garden at Blossom House. Photo: supplied by Anchor

Patrick Duffy, Anchor’s director of land and regeneration, said the 80 homes “will enable more people to live well in later life”.

How to apply

Anchor says tenants are matched with Rushcliffe Borough Council. There are two routes:

  • Join Rushcliffe’s housing register. Anchor’s page links to the council’s Homesearch scheme.
  • Join Anchor’s own waiting list for the building. Make an enquiry through the Blossom House page or call Anchor on 0800 731 2020 (8am to 6pm on weekdays, 8am to 4pm on Saturdays).

The planning permission ties every flat to social rent and to residents aged over 55. Both are secured in a section 106 legal agreement, according to the officer report.

It was meant to be a care scheme

The building was first approved in 2023 as 77 extra care apartments, under application 23/01218/REM. Building work started on that basis.

Anchor then asked to change it to 80 ordinary flats for over-55s, with no care on site. The officer report says the change followed talks with Nottinghamshire County Council about the demand, support and funding for extra care there. To make room for three more flats, communal space inside the building was reduced.

The new application, 24/02130/FUL, drew 73 objections from neighbours and members of the public. Parking heads the officer report’s summary of their concerns. One person wrote in support, saying people need affordable housing.

Approved on the chair’s casting vote

Rushcliffe’s Planning Committee decided the application on 10 July 2025. The minutes record that members worried there were not enough spaces, and that the plans did not show where overflow parking would go.

Two votes followed:

  • A motion to refuse permission over parking, access and safety was tied 5-5, with one abstention. The chair used a casting vote against it.
  • A motion to approve was also tied 5-5 with one abstention. The chair’s casting vote carried it.
Bar chart for Blossom House, Edwalton: 80 apartments, 48 parking spaces approved, and 23 resident cars expected according to the applicant's estimate based on 29% car ownership at other Anchor schemes.
Flats, approved parking spaces and the applicant's estimate of residents' cars. Chart by West Bridgford Live
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The approved plans have 48 parking spaces for the 80 flats. The county council, as highway authority, first judged that a “significant under-provision” against its design guide, the officer report says. Anchor then supplied car ownership figures from its other schemes in and around Nottingham. On average, 29% of residents there own a car. That suggested about 23 resident cars at Blossom House.

The county accepted 48 spaces as satisfactory. It still noted that this site is more remote than the schemes Anchor compared it with. The officer report points to the frequent bus route into West Bridgford and Nottingham, and the shops at Landmere Lane within walking distance.

The committee added one condition at the meeting: a car park management plan must be agreed with the council before anyone moves in. Anchor’s current listing gives a lower figure, 37 car parking spaces, and does not explain the difference.

What the council’s housing team said

Rushcliffe’s strategic housing officer supported the scheme, according to the report. The officer also said it would have “limited impact” on people waiting for social rented homes through the council’s allocations scheme. The benefit, the officer said, was that it “would free up homes in the private market” as older people move in.

The permission also requires payments of £63,680 towards GP and primary care and £4,121.60 towards allotments, under the draft heads of terms in the late papers.

What it means for you

  • If you are 55 or over and need an affordable home, about 40 flats were still to be let when Anchor made its announcement. Register with Rushcliffe Homesearch and contact Anchor directly; both routes are open.
  • If you live on the surrounding estate, the car park management plan is the document that governs how the 48 spaces are used. It is a condition of the permission, reference 24/02130/FUL.
  • If you are following other big sites in the area, our West Bridgford planning news page tracks them.

Sources