New children’s home for Barnsley narrowly approved by planning board

The property, on Churchfield Avenue in Cudworth, will be converted into a children’s home for one child, with staff on site 24 hours a day.

Planning documents considered by Barnsley Council’s planning board, state that shifts will run 8am to 8pm with a 15 minute handover, and ‘there are available parking spaces at that time’.

The planning officer adds, in their report, that children’s care homes are normally set in residential areas, to provide a ‘typical’ setting for children to grow up in.

The applicant has also agreed to a condition which ensures that any child that resides at the premises is from Barnsley.

The proposal attracted objections from ward councillors, on the grounds of antisocial behaviour, ‘too many’ care homes in the area, and say that the proposal is ‘unsuitable’ in a densely populated area.

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Councillor Joe Hayward, who represents the Cudworth ward, told the meeting that he and other ward councillors are not opposed to children coming to Cudworth to receive care, but he didn’t think the area is the ‘right place’ for a care home.

Coun Hayward added that the area has suffered from anti-social behaviour and ‘drugs incidents’, and added ‘there is a reputation in that area’.

He added that ‘not 100 yards down the road is another home, which stands in its own grounds and we had troubles, but we sorted out one by one with the police and the management’.

Matt Woodward, planning officer at BMBC, said that he department had acknowledged concerns from councillors about the impact of the home on neighbouring properties in the ‘densely populated’ area.

Mr Woodward added that he is ‘aware of other concerns that have been raised from another care home in the locality, which caused a lot of problems and antisocial behaviour’, but added each application had to be considered on its individual merits.

He stated that with one child and one staff member supervising, they would be living as a ‘family unit’, and it would be ‘no different than if somebody was to buy a property and rent it… to a different family or to different occupants’.

Councillor David Greenhough told the meeting there is a ‘care crisis in Barnsley’, and that ‘we desperately need places for children to be looked after’.

“When it’s a unit like this, which is one-to-one care….I think that provides for some really specialist needs for certain children, which they definitely need.

“People have talked about the fact that it’s a terraced house, but it’s not a permanent residence for these children, this is going to be a time where they actually need it, it could be crisis, it could be just a temporary measure for a very short period of time. I think it’s definitely something that’s needed.

“When we’ve got a child with a carer there all the time as well, I’m not sure where do you think this child is going to go or what’s going to happen?”

Councillor Margaret Bruff said that record from children’s services indicate ‘that in April 2020, there was only one other private children’s home in Cudworth’ adding ‘it’s not children’s homes you’re having problems with Joe, it might be older age group accommodation’.

“I appreciate what you’re saying about some of the problems, but let’s not confuse them with a children’s home.”