New home for vulnerable children gets green light

Kirklees Council received more than 30 objections to the plan for the new children's home

Plans for a new children's home in a Huddersfield village have been approved despite concerns from neighbours over parking issues.

Lighthouse Care Residential wants to turn a six-bedroom property in Almondbury into a home for up to three children.

At a Kirklees Council planning meeting one resident said the narrow cul-de-sac where the facility would be located already experienced congestion, with traffic set to worsen if the plan went ahead.

However, several planning committee members said they were pleased with the proposal, with one describing the parking plan as "exceptional".

The meeting on Thursday heard the property at Far View Crescent would cater for children aged between seven and 18, with a manager and up to three carers, two of whom would sleep there overnight.

Planners were told children housed at the site would have a range of needs including developmental trauma, neurodiversity, sensory issues, emotional and behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities.

A Lighthouse Care Residential director said the setting would "improve the lives of vulnerable children"

Officials heard from one local resident who said the development would create unacceptable highways and parking risks and was an "unsustainable location for institutional use".

However, the home's director said it would be "a positive addition" to the community and would "look and feel like any other family home".

She added: "The setting will focus on improving the lives of vulnerable children who deserve stability and care close to where they belong."

Councillor Paola Davies backed residents' concerns over traffic, telling planners: "The issue isn't just the members of staff coming, it's visitors, it's people providing care, professionals and support people".

However, Councillor Cathy Scott, who approved of the parking plan, said: "We're in desperate need of children's homes and somebody that's going to invest in something that's sympathetic to a neighbourhood – I think we should be supporting applications like this."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, chair of the meeting Councillor James Homewood said the "quiet residential area" sounded like "a very good place for children to grow up".

The plan was approved after four councillors voted for the scheme to go ahead and three abstained.

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