75 residents OBJECT to plans to turn house in quiet Northampton cul-de-sac into care home for vulnerable children
Plans to convert a house in a ‘quiet' street in Northampton into a children’s care home have received 75 objections from residents in the area.
The application, submitted by Neil Verlander, seeks to change number 5 Blossac Court, Duston, from a private house into a children’s home. The home would provide care and support for vulnerable children and young people aged 5 to 18, according to plans.
The applicant said the care home would offer a safe and caring environment for children who have experienced trauma.
In planning papers, Mr Verlander said: “We will work collaboratively with local authorities to provide residential care and support to some of the most vulnerable children and young people in our society. Some of our residents may have previously been exposed to traumatic experiences and may be dealing with associated challenges.
“During their time with us, we will provide a consistently safe and caring environment to support residents to manage and overcome this. We will collaborate with external professionals, local networks, friends, and families, and focus on all aspects of their personal development, mentally, emotionally, physically.
“Our home and services will be nurturing, warm and welcoming, with a staff team that are trained and committed to delivering nothing less than ‘outstanding’ care 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
"Our approach will allow our young people to be cared for in a loving, family-style environment.”
However, 75 residents have objected to the plans, arguing that a quiet residential cul-de-sac is not a suitable location for a care home. They raised concerns about increased traffic, parking issues, noise, and the potential impact on house prices.
One resident wrote: “I object to this application on the grounds that this is in a residential area and the occupants would not have wished to live next to a children’s home. These applications are a cop out by WNC who are fulfilling these statutory obligations by allowing companies to buy or rent properties and then charge the council exorbitant sums of money. The applicants do not pay business rates or commercial waste disposal. Unsocial behaviour is a great possibility when social workers are in charge as the occupants may not comply with authority. Noise will also be a problem. The parking at the premises is insufficient with three staff members on site all the time with shift changes twice a day and visits from official monitors etc. I object. Keep residential streets residential and protect householders.”
Another objector said: “I object to this happening in a quiet residential area, this will cause chaos for the neighbours. This needs to be better thought out, it's not the right place to put for troubled young adults.”
Another added: “A project like this will ruin the area that many of us have spent our entire lives trying to build towards being able to live in.”
A fourth resident said: “We often take our daily walks past this address via the footpath and I would not feel comfortable doing so knowing there are troubled young adults with a potential for sudden aggressive and unpredictable behaviour.”
The planning application is currently under review, with a final decision expected to be made by West Northants Council on April 23.