“I am a hard working single mum who has bought this beautiful family home
in this lovely place – but that dream has now evaporated.”

She claimed that planners would have refused the plan if it wasn’t for a care
home.

“That means it should not have been approved,” she said. “The decision
was made on emotions but not law. If it was a block of flats or a warehouse
then it would have been refused.

“We are not against care homes just the size, mass and appearance of this
building which will be so close to our homes.”

Former swimming star Davies, who won silver in the 400m individual medley at
the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, bought the Georgian mansion house in September.

The stunning Wiltshire property, on the site of Bradford-upon-Avon’s former
hospital, had been split into four homes before she snapped up the main part
of the building.

Private care home provider Castlemead, which boasts Defence Secretary Phillip
Hammond as a major shareholder, had outlined plans for a new 42-bed centre
in its grounds.

Davies was happy with the original proposals and signed up to buy her dream
home.

But just 48 hours later she learned that plans had “radically”
expanded, meaning the centre would cater for 63 elderly residents and those
suffering from dementia.

She said: “I have never objected to a care home being there but they have
increased the capacity by 50 per cent, from 42 to 63.

“It is going to be on four storeys and looks awful, just like a prison.
There has been no consideration about residents, it is all about the bottom
line.

“The hypocrisy is that Castlemead will be able to charge a premium for
residents having a view of lovely listed buildings, while those of us who
have paid for and live in the houses will have a view of a horrible prison.

“We will still be paying for the upkeep of our homes. It is the loss of
local amenity and our privacy.

“It will be so close that I will be able to see the whites of residents
eyes as they sit in their community room, which will be on two levels.”

Councillors voted by eight to four to give the green light to the
controversial plan during an hour-long meeting on Wednesday night.

The proposal had already been backed by local health campaigners in the
Wiltshire town who spent the last six years battling for a care home on the
site.

John Cottle, head of the health campaign, said: “We are delighted that
after several false starts councillors have approved our plan.

“We have campaigned for this to happen since the hospital’s closure.”

Tony Cole, business development director for Castlemead, said work would begin
on the summer, with the care home opening in 2013.

He said: “We’re delighted with the decision that at last will provide a
much needed facility for the residents of Bradford.”

Sharron, along with a group of neighbours, has engaged a top London barrister
to challenge the decision.

Her objections have been backed by the town’s preservation trust and a growing
number of locals.

She added: “What really worries me is that local people have been duped
into thinking that this care home is going to be a facility for the
community.

“Castlemead said that there could be spaces for NHS patients but with all
of the cut backs are they really going to fund a £1,000 a week place if
there is a £600 one?

“My barrister believes I have a very strong case and I am determined to
fight this as far as I can.

“If this goes to judicial review then it will be judged purely on a
planning, legal argument instead of emotions. I am convinced that the
outcome will be very different.”