Bid to open children's home in Leicestershire town refused

The property in Wigston
-Credit:Google


A bid to open a residential children's home in a Leicestershire town has been refused. Ortu Specialised Home had applied to Oadby and Wigston Borough Council for permission to turn a house in Northfield Avenue, Wigston, into a residential home for children aged 13-17 with "challenging" behaviour.

The applicant wanted up to three children to live at the property, supported by four daytime and two nighttime staff. A full time office manager would be on site at the house, with one on call, planning documents stated. No alterations were proposed to the four-bed home.

Oadby and Wigston planning officers refused the application "due to the cramped and poorly designed internal layout" of the planned home. The officers said the layout would "fail to provide a satisfactory standard of amenity for all of the future occupants of the site".

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: Debate date set for Leicestershire golf course homes plan amid petitions

There were 12 neighbourhood objections to the plan. However, LeicestershireLive cannot publish opponents' reasoning behind the objections because Oadby and Wigston Borough Council does not give access to such information.

In reaching its decision, the council said the applicant had not included any information relating to identified local need for children's homes, which meant the applicant had "failed to robustly demonstrate that the proposed change of use is required to meet an identified local need within the borough".

The authority said it had "attempted to work with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner based on seeking solutions to problems arising in relation to dealing with the planning application". It added that in this instance, "it has not been possible to overcome the concerns raised [...] and therefore the application has been refused".