By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
An existing home in the Berry Hill area of Mansfield could be converted for use as a care home for up to four children.
Mansfield District Council’s planning committee will discuss the plans on Monday (April 24) for an existing property.
The proposals have been lodged by applicant Safe as Houses Property Investment, confirming its provider is “well regarded” and is locally approved.
Documents reveal the existing five-bedroom property would be turned into a care facility, with four bedrooms for children and one for overnight staff.
The facility would have four members of staff during the day, each with their own car parking space.
An existing double garage would also be used to provide overspilled car parking for visitors or managers visiting the site.
The home would be accessed through large gates at the front and would include a lounge and dining room, a study, a living room, a kitchen, a sitting area and a utility room.
Three of the five bedrooms would also feature en-suite bathrooms, papers add.
Twenty-eight letters were submitted to the authority during a planning consultation, with just one letter supporting the plans.
This came from a neighbouring home, though council papers do not specify what comments were made.
Objections included “disturbing and loud noises potentially emanating” from the property, and fears of local residents not feeling “safe on their street”.
Other issues include all homes in the area still being residential properties, concerns about the size of the home for care use and potential “increases of crime rate”.
And objectors also raised concerns about insufficient car parking provision and the potential for traffic accidents caused by parked cars.
However, in planning documents, the applicant said: “We are fully aware that historic perceptions exist around the institutional nature of a children’s home, which are often misplaced.
“We’d wish to reassure [you] that how a modern children’s home looks and operates on a daily basis is designed to replicate a modern family home environment.
“This results in minimising any potential impacts on the property’s neighbours, such as the volume of traffic and vehicle movements, and the overall impact on the ‘amenity’ of the local area.
“Ofsted, which regulates and inspects children’s homes, requires this and the home will need successfully to meet all of Ofsted’s requirements in order to be able to operate.”
Mansfield District Council’s planning department agrees with the applicant’s points and says the proposal is “acceptable”.
In documents, the authority said: “The property, if managed correctly, would be unlikely to result in undue harmful impacts to residents, as the site has sufficient capacity for the coming and going of staff members.”
Papers add the authority’s environmental health officer also raises no objections or concerns with the plan.
And Nottinghamshire County Council, the local education authority, also submitted supporting statements for the application.
This included offering a “positive impact upon the sufficiency and suitability of homes for local children in care”.
The Conservative-run authority has previously moved towards smaller care homes rather than larger institutions as a policy in recent years.
Members of the district council planning committee will discuss the care home proposals on April 24 and will be recommended to approve them.
