PLANS for a residential care home for children in Merthyr Tydfil have been approved.
The application for the change of use of a house to a residential care home for up to four children in Church Street, Penydarren, was approved by the council’s planning committee on Wednesday, May 7.
The planning report said children placed at the care home would be aged between eight and 18 years old, would live at the property as their principal residence and were usually long-term residents.
The supporting information with the application said that those who were in the guardianship of Aropa Care Group often had social, emotional or behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and had been taken into care for a variety of reasons, including fears for their physical wellbeing, learning disabilities or because of emotional or behavioural difficulties.
The report said that, typically, the reason for the children needing care was simply that they were not yet old enough to live independently or required additional support that could not be provided within their current setting.
But it said that the property would not be a secure unit and would not accommodate high risk young people and the children would be looked after by staff at the property 24 hours a day, but care was not provided on a one-to-one basis.
The report said that while staff would not live at the property, there would be two overnight staff who would sleep at the premises.
The supporting information said that staff levels were of a variable nature due to shift work patterns, with changeovers occurring between 7am and 9am and again between 4pm and 6pm.
It also said that whilst 10 staff would be associated with the property, the maximum number of care staff, including a manager, on site at any one time would be five.
The ground floor of the property would remain unchanged, providing two reception rooms, a kitchen/lounge, utility room and toilet.
The first floor would provide a bathroom, an office/bedroom for staff with an en-suite and a further staff bedroom and two bedrooms for the children.
The second floor would provide a further two bedrooms for the children and a bathroom.
Whist each child and staff member would have their own bedroom (and office in the case of staff), the remaining rooms and facilities would be shared.
The existing vehicle access would be extended with double gates put up providing access to five parking spaces within the site.
Councillor David Isaac had requested that this application be reported to the planning committee to consider the concerns raised by the local residents.
There were 30 public letters of objection to the application which raised concern over increased traffic and demand for parking, anti-social behaviour, noise and disturbance, safeguarding of children in the street and the lack of outdoor space for children at the property.
They also said that it could lead to other properties in the street being changed to a similar use, result in a loss of privacy and overlooking, it would impact on the character of the area, that there was potential for other uses under the use class to occupy the property and that a limited publicity exercise had taken place.
In responding to these concerns, planning officers said in their report that it was not considered that the proposal would give rise to highway safety concerns or impinge access to emergency vehicles and that the number of parking spaces on site would be adequate to accommodate the staff.
They acknowledged that while the widening of the driveway would slightly reduce space for on street parking along Church Street, given the modest increase in the width of the driveway it was not considered that this would have any notable impact.
It said there was sufficient parking available along the street within the vicinity of the site for visitors and that there were two bus stops near the site.
They said that with a condition about the design there would be no adverse impact as a result of the proposal on the character or visual amenities of the area.
They said there would not be any additional overshadowing, loss of light, overbearing impact, increase in overlooking or greater impact in terms of loss of privacy.
The report said: “It is not considered that the proposal would give rise to any significant increase in traffic movements in the area or associated noise and disturbance” adding: “Instances where there would be significant levels of noise and disturbance, which may cause a statutory nuisance, would be a matter for environmental health, who have not raised any objection to this proposal.”
The report goes on to say that it cannot be assumed that the proposal would exacerbate anti-social behaviour problems and no issues were raised by South Wales Police when consulted on the application.
It said there was no objective evidence to indicate that the proposal would increase anti-social behaviour or pose a risk to the safety of existing residents.
“It is considered that the property would operate in a similar manner to a typical residential use, which would not give rise to significant adverse impacts on the amenities of neighbouring properties,” the report said.
It pointed out that it was not considered that the care home would create an unsettling, confusing or indeed unsafe environment for existing children in the street that would impact on their emotional and psychological wellbeing.
It said the use class related to residential institutions which were generally appropriate within a residential area and given the size of the property it was not considered necessary to restrict the use.
The report said that there was no evidence to suggest that the approval of this application would lead to other properties in the street being changed to a similar use.
It said there was garden space to the side and rear of the property and that it would be for Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) to assess whether the property met the required standards to be given a licence for use as a children’s care home.
It said that supporting information said that the applicant was registered with the CIW, operated several homes throughout the south Wales area that provided specialist care for children and that the proposed use would operate in accordance with CIW’s guidelines and regulations.
The report said letters were sent to adjoining owners and occupiers as well as those directly opposite the site and two site notice were also displayed along the street.
