By Lauren Monaghan, Local Democracy Reporter
Rushcliffe Borough Council has approved plans to turn a residential house in Radcliffe-on-Trent into a children’s home.
The detached four-bedroom property was previously used as a standard residential family home.
The application was made by Footsteps to Futures, an independent children’s home care provider that offers therapeutic living environments for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in the East Midlands.
The proposed plan aims to turn the house into a home that offers one-to-one care for two children with emotional and behavioural difficulties aged between eight and 17 years old.
Two carers working 24-hour shifts would also be present in the home at all times.
Some residents had expressed their concerns over privacy and parking issues.
One home owner named Robert explained his uncertainties to the council’s Planning Committee on Thursday, July 11, when he said: “The material change would have a detrimental impact on the amenity of the nearby occupiers.
“The surrounding area is wholly characterised by single-family dwellings and I must stress, mostly people with children… they are extremely concerned.
“We’ve done some research and we’ve found sometimes there are serious problems associated with these properties… sometimes only one child can cause havoc.
“The question of privacy, if you have been to [the residential road] you’ll see that all the front gardens do not have fences or hedges so anybody can walk right up to the window.”
Congestion and parking were a main concern for residents and councillors, as the street has a narrow road.
Rushcliffe Borough Councillor Roger Upton said: “It is a relatively narrow road with no on-street parking restrictions, very limited on street parking.
“The time and effort involved with reversing and manoeuvring three cars [onto the driveway] parked in a line will result in one or more being parked on the road and I suggest this most probably would happen at this location.”
He added: “It is a narrow street and when we’re talking about two carers, a manager, possible professional visits, social visits, fast-food deliveries, we can see there are problems.
“I myself have observed an occasion when the two cars from the existing occupiers were parked outside when the refuse vehicle couldn’t get past.”
One councillor said in response to parking worries: “We’ve consulted with the highways Authority who are our technical advisers and they have raised no objections for the reasons that we’ve set out… therefore it would be difficult to justify refusal on those grounds.”
Others were optimistic about the prospect of the children’s home, adding that the location enables for children with behavioural difficulties to be better integrated into a community.
Councillor Carys Thomas said: “It does seem to me that it’s an excellent opportunity for young people to be located in an area where residents are clearly law-abiding.”
The plans were approved with set conditions, such as a travel plan to navigate parking issues and to set up other advisories to address any concerns.
