A CARE company manager has voiced fears that autistic people may have to be housed outside Basingstoke in future.

Marion Cornick, who runs Liaise Loddon, was speaking after borough councillors decided that a home run by her company in Kempshott Lane, Basingstoke, can only have permission to continue for another 12 months.

She said: “It is incredibly difficult to find a property in urban Basingstoke. We may have to look elsewhere. It is very disappointing and we are heartbroken about it.”

She added that any more homes may have to be sited outside the area to avoid what she described as a more restrictive approach to planning permission in Basingstoke and Deane.

The detached house – one of six run by her company in the town – is home to four autistic people who have round-the-clock care. It has been open since May last year.

But Liaise Loddon was obliged to ask for change-of-use planning permission after council officers were alerted to the new use of the property. Instead of the current permission for C3 residential use, the company had to apply for C2 residential institution use because officers believed the use no longer fitted the C3 requirements. They did, however, recommend approval for the new permission.

Some 26 letters of objection were submitted and only one in support of the application, which was from a next-door neighbour.

After hearing from Mrs Cornick and from Pete Peters, one of the neighbours, members of the borough’s development control committee voted for temporary permission.

Mr Peters, whose home is in Homesteads Road and backs on to the Liaise Loddon property, told councillors that neighbours, many of them elderly, could no longer enjoy their gardens because of constant screaming and objects being thrown over fences.

The 77-year-old said among the many objects being thrown over the fence were lumps of brick and a mug. He also told councillors it was outrageous to suggest opposition was based on prejudice against the disabled. He said: “We are decent, caring people”

Mr Peters screamed out loud to demonstrate the noise made by one resident in the home’s garden, which he said was a problem from spring to autumn.

He added: “The pleasure of working and relaxing in our gardens is something we want at this time in our lives.”

But the committee members said they wanted more evidence and more time to see if the problems could be ironed out.

Councillor George Hood, who proposed granting temporary permission, said: “It is an emotive decision for all of us and whichever decision we make, we will go home feeling guilty.”

Afterwards, 69-year-old Mrs Cornick, who founded The Loddon School near Sherfield-on-Loddon, said the decision was a fudge.

She said: “It’s such a blow to people with autism. We understand people have fears and don’t understand, but we don’t have big institutions any more.”

Mrs Cornick said 28 adults live in Liaise Loddon homes, including one in Romsey. While The Loddon School is run by a charitable trust, Liaise Loddon is a company running the homes with 170 staff and a £4million budget from the NHS and local authorities.

Mrs Cornick said she now has to apply for C2 planning permission for the rest of her homes and has already submitted an application for the Liaise Loddon home in Wallis Road, Basingstoke.

Mrs Cornick said she is meeting with a planning agent to see what the next step should be.