Cheylesmore noise and anti-social behaviour fears if children's care home goes ahead

[dutchman]

Coventry council will decide if a home on Daventry Road can be repurposed



Coventry residents have called on the council to reject plans for a care home amid fears of anti-social behaviour and noise issues. More than 100 people have supported a plea for the scheme on Daventry Road in Cheylesmore to be turned down.

They have also raised concerns over parking. But council officers say it should get the go-ahead at a meeting next week, May 23.

City councillors are due to vote on a bid to change the use of 37 Daventry Road to a care home for four children aged between 10 and 17. Children that would be housed may have complex needs.

The house will be staffed 24/7 and was chosen because of requirements from commissioners for children to be in homes that "feel like family houses and in semi-affluent areas," plans say. As well as changing use, the home will get an extension, the report added.

But 128 people have backed a petition calling on the council to refuse the plan. One reason includes a "potential increase in anti-social behaviour".

This is "such as excessive noise levels and disturbances from a 24hr operation (such as staff, visitors and residents accessing the facility). Petty crime and drugs/alcohol use," the petition says.

"This is a residential street and there are safety concerns for the young children living in the local area." The appeal also points out that the home is semi-detached and noise would be "clearly audible in adjoining properties."

It claims people will have to visit the site by car due to a lack of other ways of getting there, and says there would be "no parking" for them, as the house's driveway has space for just two cars and is on double yellow lines. Other concerns were raised including over pollutants from extra cars.

But a council planning officer's report on the scheme said the development is acceptable "in principle" and will not significantly affect neighbours or local roads. On the anti-social behaviour concerns, the officer said: "Comments have been made about the potential disturbance and anti-social behaviour surrounding the property - the council cannot confirm if this is the case.

"In any case if it were, it would be expected that a use of this nature with regulated and vetted staff living there who are looking after the children at all times would likely be more controlled than checks that can usually be made on any other typical residential owner or occupier.

"Whilst there may be slightly more comings and goings from the property than of a typical three-bed house, this is not considered to be significant and certainly not enough to warrant refusal of the application." The papers say the new home will also have noise insulation on the wall with the other semi-detached house to reduce any potential impact.

The report says the driveway will have three car spaces and comings and goings will be "no more than a typical family dwelling of this size." It claims the house is in a "sustainable location" and has bus routes that are a short walk away.

Care homes are also encouraged in areas that are close to services and accessible by a range of transport, the report says, adding that there is a "great shortage and need for such properties." City councillors on the council's planning committee will have final say on the scheme at next week's meeting.

[dutchman]

The house will be staffed 24/7"

By FOURTEEN full-time social-workers!

Tell me again why the city is bankrupt?

[rebbonk]

There really is no need for those staffing levels, but yet again this wonderful city's NIMBYism runs rife.

[dutchman]

Children's home plan approved

Plans to turn a house into a children’s home have been given the green light amid concerns over anti-social behaviour.

Councillors voted to approve the proposal to convert the semi-detached property in Cheylesmore, Coventry, into a care home for up to four children.

It came after more than 100 people signed a petition opposing the scheme, which raised fears over traffic and parking plus potential disturbance to neighbours.

A representative of the applicant said the children should not be automatically viewed as a threat and said the plans met parking standards.

During a Coventry City Council planning committee hearing on the matter, councillor Kevin Maton said he found it difficult to see how the proposal was any different from anybody else wanting to live in the house.

Some members of the public, though, took a different view, with one mother-of-two telling the meeting: “The children from the care homes, they’re children that have not had the easiest start in life. We are worried that they might have problems with managing their emotions, managing their behaviour.”

She added that she was worried about anti-social behaviour and that her children might witness “aggression” and “a lot of bad language”.

Another resident claimed the development would harm the “quiet enjoyment” of the area for locals and said a care home in a semi-detached property seemed “inappropriate” given its closeness to other homes.

But an agent speaking on behalf of applicant Mrs S K Bath told the meeting on 23 May that comings and goings would be “no more than a typical family dwelling”.

He said the home’s use would be regulated, there would be trained support workers and it would have to follow strict guidance from Ofsted.

“Children who will live in the home need a safe and secure community, and should not automatically be viewed as a threat,” he added.