FURIOUS residents are calling on councillors to ditch a housing plan by children's charity Barnardo's.

People living in and around Sherwood Way, West Wickham, say they have not been consulted.

Barnardo's and its development partner Cala Homes want to develop a former charity school and its grounds into 55 flats.

The school, which closed in 2003, was run by the charity for 16 years looking after special-needs children.

A residents' meeting last month attracted 200 people concerned about the plans.

They say suggestions Barnardo's and Cala Homes consulted extensively with them are untrue.

However, Barnardo's and Cala Homes say they spoke to the West Wickham Residents' Association in September.

But campaigners are claiming there were only two people present at the meeting.

They also say the development will be out of character with the area and a 50m access road will worsen congestion.

Association spokesman John Matthews said: "As far as we know, Cala Homes did not consult extensively with the community before submitting their planning application.

"They indicated they might have an open day on site for the public to see their proposals but this never happened."

Sherwood Way resident Duncan Swatton, 40, said: "It is shocking a charity like Barnardo's think they can just bypass local opinion, lie about doing extensive consultation when they haven't and then act like any other cold-blooded developer.

The residents are calling for the plans to be dropped in their present state."

A Barnardo's spokesman confirmed they had met the residents' association in September but could not confirm how many residents they spoke to.

She said: "Barnardo's has an obligation as a charity to maximise our assets to raise money for charitable work. We would like to think we are doing this in a responsible way."

Bromley Council's planning committee is due to discuss the proposals at its meeting on January 12.


WHAT THE CHARITY WANTS

If approved, the development would create 10 flats in the converted school building and a further 45 flats, housing a total of 120 people.

Three of the new buildings would be two-storey, the other two would be three-storey.

There would be a 50m access road installed to the site from Sherwood Way, with 72 parking spaces.

Two houses on Sherwood Way would be pulled down, under the proposals.

The plans will go before the council's planning sub committee on January 12. If approved, the development would take around 18 months to complete.

Proceeds from the sale of homes would be used to further Barnardo's charitable work, but the charity refused to disclose how much the development is worth.