Sutton Council officers back eight flats on exhumed burial ground

Sutton Council planning officers have recommended approval for a three-storey block of eight flats on the former burial ground of a convent in Worcester Park. The development, proposed for Memorial Gardens off Carters Close, has drawn objections from local households concerned about parking and the impact on surrounding streets.

The site, which was used by a local convent until burials stopped in 1966, had all human remains exhumed and relocated under a 2018 licence. The current proposal includes three three-bedroom flats, three two-bedroom flats, and two studio apartments, along with eight off-street parking spaces.

Concerns over parking and highways

Ann Biggs, Sutton's chief planner, has advised councillors to approve the plans, stating in her report that the development is acceptable and would deliver new homes in a suitable location. However, parking availability and the potential for increased pressure on local streets are significant points of contention. Sutton's Highways Officer noted in a council report that overnight parking stress in the surrounding streets already exceeds acceptable capacity and warned that the proposed eight flats would worsen this issue.

Residents have also voiced objections, with one Carters Close resident, Jane Stone, telling the council that the proposed parking provision is inadequate and does not account for existing restrictions. She stated that the application appears to assume each dwelling will have only one vehicle, which she considers unrealistic.

Despite these concerns, council officers indicated that the application cannot legally be refused on transport grounds under national planning policy. This policy allows refusal only if a development's cumulative impact on the road network is considered 'severe', a threshold the officers believe the current proposal does not meet.

Previous rejection and site history

The current application follows a previous proposal for three houses on the same site, which Sutton Council rejected in August 2025. That scheme was refused due to insufficient private amenity space, concerns about overspill parking, and potential harm to a protected oak tree.

The developers of the current scheme have proposed specialised low-impact foundations and above-ground driveways to protect the roots of the protected oak tree. The plans also include requirements for bespoke wildlife features, such as bee bricks, bat bricks, and swift bricks, to be incorporated into the new homes.

While six of the larger flats will have private balconies, the two studio apartments will lack private outdoor amenity space. Planners have suggested Mayflower Park as a nearby public green space alternative. The site, having been privately owned by a convent and disused since 1966, is considered brownfield land and does not fall under protections for future burial space requirements.

Decision pending

Sutton's officers believe the development would offer a satisfactory level of accommodation and contribute to meeting the borough's housing targets by utilising brownfield land. Planning committee members are scheduled to meet on October 7 to determine whether to grant planning permission for the eight flats.