Children's home plan approved amid claims objections 'bordered on discrimination'
Objections to a proposed Leicestershire children's home "bordered on discrimination" its applicant has claimed. James McCabe also hit out at critics to his plan which has been approved in the face of opposition from the local town council.
Mr McCabe's plan, for 26 Owen Close, Thorpe Astley, will see the "huge detached property" transformed into a children's home accommodating up to of four children. Three carers would also operate at the site with the management team overseeing the day-to-day running of the home in office hours and on call.
However, it attracted much criticism in the application process from Braunstone Town Council (BTC) who claimed there was insufficient on-site parking for the size of the children's home. Mr McCabe has disputed these claims throughout, while Blaby District Council, who approved it, also dismissed the claims.
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In its opposition, BTC claimed the number of comings and goings at the children's home would "exceed the equivalent of a normal domestic dwelling". They also claimed the application would "adversely impact" on the the area for neighbours from its size and scale as well as noise.
However, Mr McCabe disputed this. Speaking to LeicestershireLive, he said there was "clearly" sufficient parking for day-to-day operations. He also addressed noise concerns against his - and other similar proposals - within the area, calling some criticisms "really concerning".
He claimed that some bordered on "discrimination towards looked after children not being welcome or able to live in such enjoyable residential communities", adding: "I have reviewed many other planning applications of a similar nature to change the use to a children’s home within the same council, and it would seem there is similar patterns and trends to object on most applications from Braunstone Town Council."
Mr McCabe claimed that the objections came despite experts from Blaby District Council's Environmental Services and Leicestershire County Council's Highways Department both permitting the development. In their reports, the authorities attached conditions on the scheme, but found that they did not believe any noise impact was "likely to be dissimilar to a typical family home" in the same area. Any highways safety impacts were also found to not be unacceptable.
This, Mr McCabe said, showed that objections to such children's homes needed better reasoning. He said: "What I would like to see is that parish councils have clear rationale for their objections and should be in support of children in care living in our communities."
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