A COUPLE have expressed their disappointment after an application they submitted to build a dementia facility was rejected.

Mike and Sharon Cain applied to Ribble Valley Council to build a sensory garden - which they hoped would operate for the benefit of people with dementia - on a piece of brownfield land in Osbaldeston.

But the pair were downhearted to hear that their plans had been rejected by the council on the grounds that the garden would bring only ‘limited benefits to the community’.

Explaining their plans, Mr Cain, who works in IT, said: “My wife is a care assistant and works on a daily basis with people who have dementia.

“Our idea is to invite one or two people into the garden at a time to have to have one-to-one activity sessions. My wife is recognised by the Alzheimer's Society as a Dementia Champion and is keen to offer her services to the community.

“She has seen first-hand the kind of benefits this facility would have on the lives of people and we decided to do something about that.

“We found some land which we had the option to buy should plans for the facility be approved.”

The couple had also hoped to build a home for themselves on the land, so they could both work and live at the site.

But in the refusal of planning permission statement which was issued by the council, officers argued that the facility would do little for the wider community.

The statement read: “This proposal would lead to the creation of a dwelling and community garden within an unsustainable location and is there for considered to be contrary to key statements and policies which seek to prevent the creation of new dwellings in the countryside.

“Furthermore it is considered that the adverse impacts of granting permission, mainly the creation of a dwelling and community garden within an unsustainable location with inadequate access to public transport options and amenities, would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the limited benefits of the proposal in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework.”

But Mr and Mrs Cain, who plan to register a charity once they have secured land and planning permission, have labelled the move as a case of the council exercising ‘double standards’.

Mr Cain said: “Ribble Valley Council figures state around 10,000 people are directly affected by dementia in the county, but adding in family and friends the true impact is far greater."

The couple have now written to planning officers and the leader of the council in the hope that they may reconsider the decision.