Building the new
National Society
for Epilepsy
at Chalfont . . . . .

. . . plus the largest housing estate in the
         area for 40+ years,
      plus a 70 bed nursing home,
      plus sheltered housing for 85 people

The National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) is applying to Chiltern District Council for planning permission to redevelop a site of around 50 acres out of its total land holding of 339 acres. It intends to concentrate its residential and support facilities onto 28 acres, and release 22 acres for an enabling development that will fund the cost of the NSE's redevelopment. The remaining 284 acres of farmland that constitute the remainder of the NSE site will not be built on and will continue undisturbed.

This newsletter summarises the background to this application, changes made to the plan since the stakeholder consultation last July, and details of a fundraising appeal designed to offset as much of the land sale as possible.

The Spin so far

NEVER start a difficult sell with a lie. It's so difficult to regain trust later on. Surprisingly, the NSE do just that - their planning application is not being made on or around 17 May 2004, the date their Newsletter was first distributed to the local community. It was lodged at least a fortnight earlier. The clock for objections starts when Chiltern District Council advertise the application - this in turn depends on the lodgment date. The net result is that you have less time to act that you might have thought from reading their publication.

Part of the site the NSE refer to is 'developed' (albeit sparsely) and used by the NSE in its day to day activities. The remainder is greenfield and/or agricultural. Both parts are in the Green Belt and have been classified as such for a substantial period of time.

As to the remaining 284 acres of NSE land not being built on, it is perhaps an unfortunate coincidence that a group of travellers have recently done just that. They have created hard standing and erected permanent structures beside their caravans on a site off Roberts Lane.

The term 'stakeholder' appears for the first time in this publication and sense do not feel at all part of that. In fact, the local community can properly be regarded as stakeholders of amenity, tranquillity, open space and Green Belt. Quite the opposite.

NSE has provided residential care for people with epilepsy since 1892. Today over 220 people live at the Centre, in houses built in the late part of the nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth century.

Most of the houses have been refurbished a number of times through the years. The most recent was a £3 million programme of improvements, started in 1983 and completed in 1991. Ad hoc improvements have continued since then. Even so, it's clear to most people that the current standard of accommodation is inadequate. Only two of the rooms on site have an en suite bathroom, for example. Most rooms are very small. Residents at NSE are not short stay patients Chalfont is their home.

The provision of residential care in the UK is changing. People who are able to are encouraged and assisted to live in supported accommodation in the community. Only those with the most severe needs remain in residential accommodation.

This transition is taking place at NSE. Resident numbers are reducing on site. Whilst up to 70% of the 450,000 people nationally who have epilepsy will have their seizures controlled by antiepileptic medication, that still leaves 130,000 with uncontrolled epilepsy. A significant number of these people may have to live their lives in specialist residential care.

Most of NSE's current accommodation isn't suitable to meet the needs of this group of people. It is certainly the view of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), the successor to the National Care Standards Commission, which regulates all residential care facilities.

NSE spends around £500,000 a year patching up its existing site to keep it safe and to respond to the requirements of the CSCI, Although NSE has successfully negotiated with the local authorities that pay for its residents, and has thus secured far more realistic fees, it cannot afford to lose £500,000 per year. NSE has unrestricted reserves of about £1.5 million. These reserves have suffered over recent years as a direct result of the growing amount of money needed to keep the site going.

NSE has been considering its options for around 30 months. In September 2002 it announced that it was conducting a thorough review of its site. In early 2003 it started to develop plans to reconstruct its site to ensure its existence for at least another 60 years. Provisional estimates of the cost were £33 million.

By July 2003 NSE was in a position to share its plans with interested parties. By eliminating certain elements of the plan that could be viewed as being important rather than essential, the provisional cost estimate was reduced to £25 million. NSE explored all available options for raising this money and had to conclude that the only way would be to sell some land for a housing development.

Well over 1000 people have viewed NSE's plans, many of whom have made comments. Some have suggested that NSE should provide more facilities for its residents. Some were happy with the plans as they were, and supported them. Others were less happy with the plans, but felt that NSE had few if any other options. Many people were unhappy with the plans and voiced their opposition. NSE land is within the greenbelt, and some people feel that greenbelt should never be built upon. Some people have said that they think that NSE's plans are excessive. People are worried about housing density, and the impact on local roads, schools, surgeries and sewers. We understand these concerns and have tried to modify our plans to address some of them. However we have concluded that we have no realistic alternative to raising the money other than by the sale of land.

Quite Long, and Still Growing

Reading this is like watching a horror movie whilst on vallium. The depth of disbelief, incredulity (and, sadly, resentment too) is not captured at all by this description. Note there is no mention of how many people fell into each of their 'happiness' groupings - not difficult to see why.

Re-read the NSE's 'The Feedback' section. There's nothing to be concerned or worried about, is there?  Now re-read the sense section above.  Now reach for the vallium.

The Changes

Since July 2003 the NSE has been revising its plans and attempting to meet at least some of the concerns raised by various stakeholders. The proposed NSE development incorporates:

(i) 60 nursing home beds in three groups of 16 and one group of 12
(ii) 80 residential beds in four bed self-contained units located within five groups of 16
(iii) 12 move on beds within one and two-bedroom flats with a linked support block
(iv) Re-provision of non medical support services (ie a sensory unit, hydrotherapy pool, disabilities gym, speech and language suite, occupational therapy rooms, dietetics unit, consulting rooms)
(v) Re-provision of kitchens, restaurant, cafe and general store
(vi) Provision of market garden outlet store offering employment and training
(vii) Re-provision of residents social centre and sewing room
(viii) Re-provision of therapeutic workshops
(ix) Re-provision of a multi faith centre, with a quiet room and a garden of rest
(x) Re-provision of guest accommodation (four bedrooms)
(xi) Re-provision of 50 units of staff key worker accommodation

Other facilities remaining on site are as follows:

(i) Offices for the administrative and services departments to be located in four existing houses, three of which are listed buildings
(ii) Residents transport department
(iii) Recycling unit
(iv) Small works and gardening team
(v) Sir William Gowers Assessment and Treatment centre
(vi) MRI scanning unit

NSE has identified that its proposed redevelopment can be concentrated into just under two thirds of the existing developed site. This allows about 22 acres to be released for the enabling development. In response to suggestions received following the exhibition in July, we have incorporated private sheltered housing and a private care home for elderly people, in addition to the private housing for sale and affordable housing. This development will provide the finances to enable the NSE redevelopment to take place.


The proposal for the enabling development is fully compliant with planning policy guidance and achieves the minimum specified density. The planned housing mix has regard to the 'General Criteria for Development' set out in Chiltern District Council's Local Plan of September 1997 and to a proposed policy, 'H6' of the local plan which relates to affordable housing in built up areas.


Changes to the plan since consultation in July 2003 include:
* There will be a new separate entrance to the housing development off Chesham Lane
* There will be only one entrance to the development from Rickmansworth Lane, at Sarcus Dean
* A 70 bed nursing home has been included
* A private sheltered housing scheme for 85 people is planned
* There will be two children's play areas
* There will be fewer 3 bedroomed family homes, with the balance now changed towards starter homes, with 4 bedroomed houses around the perimeter
* The number of family homes in the affordable housing scheme has been reduced, with the emphasis now on flats and shared ownership

The final estimated costs of reproviding the NSE's residential housing and essential support facilities is around £32 million. Of this, £18 million is for the housing and £5 million is for the residents centre and therapeutic workshops. The rest of the money goes towards replacing all the site services, installing roads and footpaths, rebuilding the staff housing and making contributions to local roads and services as required by planning guidelines.

Many people have concerns over the density of housing proposed. Although NSE's research showed little appetite for large detached executive homes amongst people visiting its exhibition, and more people in favour of lower cost housing and facilities for the elderly, some people suggested to us that people would be happier if NSE's proposals included smaller clumps of large, high cost, high value housing.

This would yield slightly lower revenues for NSE, but, as importantly, it doesn't meet the housing needs of Chiltern District Council, central government priorities, or according to the NSE's research, the preferences of most local people.

A number of people have written to NSE wondering if the redevelopment really needs to cost so much. The cost estimates have been provided by ATIS Weatheralls, one of the largest independent property consultancies in Europe.

If, when we have received competitive quotes for each element of the redevelopment, they are less than current estimates, NSE will reduce its requirement accordingly. All money raised through land sales will be used for the redevelopment.

Out into the Open at Last (But don't blink, you might miss it!)

Look at items (i) - (xi).  The hidden agenda is revealed!  It's become a complete site redevelopment! It's come as really quite a shock. After all, it was only back in December 2003 that Mr Graham Faulkner said in their 2nd newsletter "All we are trying to do is create a standard of accommodation [for our residents] acceptable in the 21st century." It's possible some folk believed him too.

Let's try and stay tuned to the bigger picture and not get tied up in details. The NSE rightly wants to look after the interests of its 152 long-term care residents. In theory, they are fully-funded by the local authorities supplying those residents. Fully-funded means periodic capital replacements are included as well as day-to-day accommodation, nursing and running costs. The NSE have said they're at, or very nearly at, this fully-funded level. So in the longer term, all capital replacements should be able to be effected without recourse to a capital sale of Green Belt land.

The short-term problem is that the care residents' buildings are older and in a worse state than just about all other buildings on their site. They should be knocked down and rebuilt from scratch. That seems universally agreed. sense say this would cost around £5.5Million and could be done with no overall impact on Green Belt and no need for a massive housing development. Other so-called 're-provisioning' renewals could then be performed over time out of the residents' funding. The priority and timing of these to be a detail for the NSE. The only big issue sense can see here is that the NSE wants to relocate the care homes - on to some quite decent buildings that don't need demolishing! (But once demolished, they need 're-provisioning'), But if there were no massive housing estate built in the Lakeman Hall area, the NSE's residents might be happy and content close to the open spaces and green fields in that area.

'Enabling Development' appears a lot here. What is that?
Usually, it's a means of maintaining nationally important listed buildings, or other “heritage” resources such as Brighton Pier, where no other means are available. But recently that definition has been abused by property developers hanging the title on anything they can. That may be the case here. One important point is that any such development should be of the minimum possible size to achieve the specific objective. Bearing in mind that the kernel of the issue (residents' accommodation raze/rebuild) can be dealt with by sense's £5.6Million scheme and all other matters by the fully-funded nature of providing for the residents' places, this shouldn't be relevant here.

The NSE's current plans segregate their own site from the housing estates. Who can blame them? It's a rather clear signal, though.

The nature of existing housing adjacent to the NSE is mature family-oriented houses (2, 3 and 4-bedroomed) with gardens. The NSE's proposed housing is of a density and nature entirely out of character with this. In particular, there is no subsidised housing, no flats, no sheltered housing and no starter homes elsewhere else in the vicinity. We could talk about car parking/traffic too, but to all (apart from the NSE) the ramifications are obvious. sense remain appalled by the NSE's insensitivity and disregard for anyone outside their boundary.

The nursing home may be a reasonable idea as it would not be out of place with the NSE's premises. Except, of course, it's not required as the NSE can fund the care home rebuild without it.

In sense's opinion, the NSE's £32Million scheme is aimed at raising as much cash as possible by including everything conceivably possible, inflating it and then callously launching it parasitically on the back of a genuinely deserving cause.

And what of the good cause? What of the residents themselves? New accommodation would be welcome, no one doubts that or disputes it should happen. However, sense believe they will suffer harm as well as benefit - take a look at The Effects for the Residents page. If the replacement of their accommodation goes ahead they will be much better off. sense agree that should happen. Beyond that there is a strong case that the negatives outweigh the positives for them.

NSE is also launching an initial £2 million fundraising campaign. The first £ 1 million of this will go towards providing residents' facilities such as a hydrotherapy pool, disabilities gym and a sensory garden. The rest will go towards reducing the amount of land sold for the enabling development. NSE is currently developing applications to the National Lottery and the Department of Health. We have to be realistic, though. We will be applying to the Department of Health's S64 General Scheme of Grants. This was the fund suggested to us by Dr Stephen Ladyman MP, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Community Care, following his visit to the NSE last December. Grants are typically no more than £35,000.

The first money received for the redevelopment campaign was a £200 cheque from the mother of a current NSE resident. We will reach our target if 10,000 people send NSE £200. If we can find 20,000 donors we will raise £4 million. NSE is approaching a variety of people in show business, sport and business in an attempt to gain real momentum for this campaign.

We are appealing to as many people as possible to send the NSE redevelopment appeal £200. We need to raise the money over the next three years. Some people will find £200 harder to find than others. However as the money raised through this appeal grows, the amount needed through the proposed land sale will reduce. If you are able to send us £200, then please do so. If you can persuade someone else to send us £200, then please do so, too.

Charitable Actions (Work Both Ways)

The NSE is a charity. Charities, by definition, work and act towards the public good. Although not mandated, there is a strong presumption that charities do not act to further their own cause whilst harming others. Yet this is precisely what the NSE is doing to the local community of which it should instead be a part.

Some of our members think a fundraising campaign is a good idea and say they will help.

The Map

The high-density housing estate, nursing home and sheltered accommodation, all to be newly built on Green Belt land. Resale value circa £75Million, around 850 people and 500 cars. In light brown on right and bottom-right of map.

The £32Million scheme segregates the NSE's ongoing buildings from the new housing developments - there is not, as might first appear, a directly connecting road.

Not much else to say, except that the single and double lines to the left and top of the map give the impression of roads and tracks. Not so. These are footpaths and field boundaries - except Chesham Lane, of course!

<Update June 2004:  Work has started at Chesham Lane to build the road to Skippings Farm already marked on the left of the map. According to Mr Faulkner, planning permission was granted in 1999.>

Donation form to support sense

There is a separate page about helping sense on this Website.

It is no exaggeration to say that the future of the NSE, which has resided at Chalfont since 1892, depends on its ability to raise the money to redevelop its facilities.

NSE will be unable to provide residential care for people with severe epilepsy if it does nothing about the state of its residential houses. Neither is it an option to make superficial improvements to the estate. It would only delay the inevitable. We will do everything we can to produce as much money as possible through our fundraising campaign, thereby reducing the amount of land sold for the enabling development. We hope you will support us.

We accept that our proposals are not ideal for everyone, for which we apologise. But when the NSE first came to Chalfont in 1892, it was surrounded by green fields. By the 1920s, the majority of the NSE site that exists today had been built. House building in the green fields that once surrounded the NSE has escalated since then. The density of the proposed housing mix alarms some people, but that is what planning law dictates, and it does at least keep to a minimum the incursion into greenbelt.

I sincerely apologise to people who are unhappy with our plans. All that I ask is that you empathise with our position, even if you are unable to support us.

Graham Faulkner

Chief Executive

The Summary

It is no exaggeration to say that £32Million is a grossly excessive sum when around £5.6Million (self-funded) would resolve the key problem of wholly inadequate accommodation for the care residents.

The NSE has to balance its residential care unit books in the longer term and ensure this incorporates a capital replacement schedule. In the shorter term, renewal of the care homes should take place as soon as possible. The NSE has a fast-track route to significantly improving the living conditions of its charges. It should not hold out for a long period in the uncertain hope and continuing cost of the 'Grand Scheme' being tolerated or permitted.

The NSE should accept the need to act within the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law. Whilst planning law does dictate density of new housing, it also states what may or may not be built in the first place. The building constraints in the area are well known to all and should apply to all - even those, who have the resources, contacts and ethos to try to circumvent them. It needs also to realign its charitable focus - there are people outside their walls who deserve fair treatment too.

sense remains in favour of new accommodation for the NSE's long-term care residents. We also remain in favour of retaining Chalfont Common's semi-rural character and amenity for the benefit of both the NSE's residents and the local community. Fundamental to this is the continued application of established Green Belt principles.

The Things the NSE Chose not to Raise

The Petition.
Mind you, as only some 1,800 local people signed the petition to the NSE requiring it to moderate its excesses it probably slipped under their radar.

The Long-term Care Residents
There are also downsides for them in such a massive scheme. None of these were mentioned so as to achieve a balanced perspective.

The Bookbinding Plant
An embarrassment in the £25Million scheme after sense identified the waste involved. Quietly dropped now, even though finding employment for epileptics is one of the NSE's key purposes.

Footpaths and traffic calming
Prominent 'red herring' in previous newsletters. Not needed now that a planning application has been submitted.

Reaching into their own pockets
£2.5Million in the bank at March 2003 and achieving £1M per annum surpluses. Highlighted in the Annual Accounts - ignored here.

Promises to Consult and Answer Questions
A glib statement has appeared over Mr Faulkner's name in previous newsletters. Again, not needed now that a planning application has been submitted.

Skippings Farm
Now quietly up for a raze and rebuild too.  Is this, perhaps, to be a geographical cornerstone for future land sale and developments?