Council wants government support over limiting children's homes
A proliferation of children’s homes in rural areas of the Melton borough has prompted the council leader to write to the government to consider providing local authorities with new powers to control how many can operate in communities.
Councillor Pip Allnatt made the plea to Angela Rayner MP, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government shortly before Melton Borough Council’s planning committee approved proposals for the change of use of a house at Barkestone-le-Vale from a residential property to a home for up to four young people.
The committee was told that this would be the 25th children’s home within three miles of Barkestone-le-Vale.
The application attracted 33 letters of objection from local residents and strong opposition from Barkestone Plungar and Redmile Parish Council.
Objectors said Barkestone could not sustain a children’s home because of its lack of services, it would further increase heavy traffic issues in the village and create a risk of anti-social behaviour.
The borough council is already having to fight an appeal for another children’s home to be provided on Belvoir Road at Redmile after councillors blocked it at a recent meeting.
Councillor Allnatt, in his letter to Mrs Rayner, wrote: “There is a need to ensure that children’s homes and local communities can positively co-exist and there is not a disproportionate or unsustainable concentration of children’s homes in one locality, leading to imbalance in communities and to the detriment of the local community and the young people in care.
"The current planning system has no mechanism with which to effectively regulate the concentration of children’s homes in a particular area and the council does not have the jurisdiction to regulate the operation of children’s homes.”
The newly approved home at Barkestone is at a five-bedroom detached house – Old Ivy House on Chapel Street – with parking for six to seven vehicles.
Several planning committee members said they were unhappy with the scheme but felt powerless to prevent it.
Councillor Ronan Browne, who works in the social housing sector, commented: “I can’t see how we can refuse this with the risk of an appeal.
"We really need to do something as a council to look at this whole issue.”