Agenda item

Change of use from Residential (Class C3) to Residential Children’s Home (Class C2)

Consideration was given to the report of the Senior Planning Officer regarding an application for the change of use from Residential (Class C3) to Residential Children’s Home (Class C2) (for copy see file of Minutes).

J Orr, Senior Planning Officer gave a detailed presentation on the application which included photographs of the site. Members had visited the site and were familiar with the location and setting.

Councillor Gunn, local Member addressed the Committee on behalf of residents of Cumberland Terrace. She understood that the Police were asking for a condition to restrict the use of the premises to children with physical disabilities.

Highways issues were a major concern for local residents. Colleagues who visited the site would have noted significant problems with traffic and access.

The road along Cumberland Terrace was narrow and service and emergency vehicles had difficulty accessing the properties. Councillor Gunn referred to one family whose children had potentially life threatening medical conditions which meant that access by ambulance was crucial.

Access and parking along the street was not just difficult for residents, there was a school and church which were well-attended and which generated a lot of traffic at peak times. Delivery vehicles also had difficulty gaining access to properties in the street because of the limited turning area. It was not unusual for the road to be blocked with vehicles.

The Highways Authority had not offered any objections but had expressed concern with regard to a planning application for the bungalow which was refused by the former Wear Valley District Council on highway grounds, although later allowed on appeal. It was accepted by the Highways Authority that the property would increase the level of vehicular activity but the issue for residents was by how much and the resulting impact. Taking into account the needs of the children, their care requirements, school taxis and family visits it was estimated that there would be around 46 vehicle movements per day. Any increase in traffic, particularly at peak times would bring Cumberland Terrace to a halt and would also have an impact on the main road through Willington.

Residents and Cllr Gunn believed that Cumberland Terrace was unable to accommodate an increase in traffic. Her considered view was that this would have the potential to put the church congregation, school children and residents at risk.

Councillor Fraser Tinsley addressed the Committee on behalf of Greater Willington Town Council. The earlier application for the bungalow was granted on appeal but the concerns of the Highways Authority at the time had been based on a residential dwelling. The current application was for a residential care home which would generate significantly more traffic.

The Police had advised that their objection would be withdrawn if the use of the premises was restricted to children with physical disabilities, and Children and Adults Services had commented that there was a need for short stay services. To address their concerns he suggested an amendment to condition 6 to restrict the use of the home to children with physical disabilities and to a maximum stay of 28 consecutive days.

B Forster, on behalf of the applicant, stated that although there were local concerns about the proposals they had received a lot of support from the community. She provided Members with a background to the company and its aims. 

The company wanted to provide a choice of services for families and to provide stability for the children, working closely with other Agencies. The care provision would include overnight stays.

All children should be able to access education, develop emotional resilience and engage with the local community. They aimed to provide a service which was meaningful and appropriate to ensure that children in their care enjoyed life. A staffing ratio of 1:1 was high but this was because of the needs of the children.

Councillor Clare referred to the comments made by the Town Council regarding a restriction on the length of stay and asked if this would be acceptable to the applicant. B Forster responded that short term stays would be too restrictive for the service they wanted to provide for children and their families.

In response to questions from Councillor Patterson, B Forster advised that specialist services may be provided at the home or the child may have to travel to receive treatment. The number of vehicle movements per day had been calculated to take this into account.  

The Member also asked whether the building would be able to accommodate staff and children at a 1:1 ratio and was advised that Ofsted would carry out an assessment in accordance with Regulations and advise on placement size.

D Stewart, Highways Officer was asked to comment on the concerns raised regarding highway safety. He acknowledged that the existing constraints would increase in relation to the proposed use. There would be variables to the suggested vehicular movements on a daily basis depending upon the needs of each child, however the existing street already served a school, a church and residential properties. Having looked at the proposed usage of the property against the current use as a six bedroomed dwelling, the net increase in traffic would be around 4-6% of the whole of Cumberland Terrace. Over a 24 hour period this would equate to additional vehicle movements of just one an hour. This level of increase would not result in severe residual cumulative impact.

Councillor Huntington noted that traffic levels were a problem for pedestrians as well as vehicles.

Councillor Davidson, having listened to the views put forward, concurred with the Highways Authority that whilst there would be an increase in vehicle movements there were existing traffic problems in the street. In the main, vehicles using Cumberland Terrace would be cars not wagons.

Councillor Nicholson concurred with the comments of Councillor Davidson and added that the proposal could create employment opportunities in an area of high unemployment.

The comment was made by Councillor Clare that the use of the accommodation within the property was a matter for Ofsted and not a material planning consideration for the Committee. He agreed with the views of the Highways Officer and other Members in relation to traffic, and considered that it would be difficult to reject the application on highway grounds when the Highways Authority deemed the situation to be acceptable.

Councillor Dixon referred to the amendment to condition 6 suggested by Willington Town Council. C Cuskin, Legal Officer advised that the suggestion to restrict the use of the property to children with physical disabilities, and impose a maximum stay of 28 days would be difficult to justify on planning grounds.

Resolved:

That the application be approved subject to the conditions outlined in the report.