What we know so far as Solihull planners to decide on proposal for young care leavers accommodation

A decision is set to be made on a charity’s plan to build accommodation for young care leavers next week. The Sir Josiah Mason Trust applied for permission to build homes for young teenagers who have been in the care of the authority in January.

The application will go before Solihull Council planning committee next week. The charity wants to build a two-storey apartment block on an unused green space at its Olton home where four young adults can be supported to start their adult lives living independently.

In a design and access statement, submitted to the authority as part of the application, JDA Architects, for the applicant, said the proposal had “numerous benefits”, was “very sympathetic” to nearby buildings and there no new vehicle access would be needed. A consultation, held in October, attracted five objections from neighbours to the Hillsborough Road-based site.

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Objections included:

• Out-of-keeping with area and street scene

• Insufficient parking on-street already

• Road safety concerns

• Anti social behaviour

• Not a good use to mix with existing elderly residents

But planning officers recommend the proposal be approved, subject to conditions. Officers said: “The design and site layout of the proposed development produces a good-quality, inclusive and sustainably designed scheme.

“The proposed development would also make efficient use of this site, which has good accessibility to local services. The proposal doesn’t include parking spaces. However this level parking provision is considered acceptable by the authority’s highway engineer given the highly sustainable location of the application site and the intended use of the building for care leavers.”

The planning meeting, which is open to the public, is being held at the Civic Suite from 5.30pm on December 4.