“A WASTE of time” is how one resident has described a new plan to turn a former police station into retirement apartments.

Renaissance Retirement has submitted a planning application to convert the old Wantage station and magistrates’ court into 32 retirement apartments.

But Wantage Town Council wants to convert the Church Street site into a car park and residents have backed the idea.

A first planning application from Churchill Retirement Living to turn it into 44 retirement flats was rejected by planning authority Vale of White Horse District Council.

That decision was upheld by a planning inspector who said it would have a negative effect on the character of Wantage's town centre conservation area.

Now townsfolk have written to the Vale council to object to the latest planning application.

Carol Tomlinson, who lives in Elizabeth Drive, told the Vale: “An application for a similar development was eventually turned down by the inspectorate and it seems an absolute waste of everyone’s time to reintroduce such a scheme when the reasoning against the original is still relevant.

“Church Street is not suitable for this development because, again, there is insufficient parking provision for residents or visitors and overspill parking will greatly affect this road and its environs.”

Wantage and Grove Campaign Group for sustainable development urged people to tell the Vale their views on the scheme.

Campaign manager Julie Mabberley said: “This is a site that the Wantage Neighbourhood Planning group have been looking at with a view to increasing car parking in the town and potential retail expansion.

“Please get your comments in – this is really important.”

Renaissance managing director Robert Taylor said if the plan was approved the firm would “strive to make Wantage proud of our development”.

He said: “From our public consultation we listened to concerns on the parking situation and increased our proposed parking allocation to nearly one parking space for every two apartments.”

On the question of whether Wantage needed more retirement apartments, he said: “The landowners marketed the site through commercial agents for a number of months and anyone could have bid for it, including retail companies.”

If the plan was approved, he said, construction could start later this year with the first apartments finished early next year.

The public can comment on the plans online at whitehorsedc.gov.uk using reference number P15/V0729/FUL until May 20.

The Vale is due to make a final decision by July 14.