Plans for children’s home in Denaby Main put on hold to allow councillors to carry out site visit over safety concerns

Doncaster Council’s planning committee will revisit plans to convert a home in Denaby Main into a residential children’s home at the end of the month.

The plans would see minor alterations being carred out to the property which would allow it to house three children between the ages of nine and 18.

Care staff would be on-site at all times and sleep in a fourth bedroom, although they would not live in the property.

The application was brought to the committee in April by ward councillor Nigel Ball, due to concerns over several incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

He expressed concern that young residents could be exposed to danger and influenced into taking part in gang activity.

During the meeting, he stated that a previous children’s home only 500 metres away was closed two years prior due to anti-social behaviour in the area.

A risk assessment conducted by applicant Friends Together Care Homes stated that crime data concludes a medium risk for gang activity and violent crime in the area.

Coun Ball expressed concerns, however, that crime is under-represented in the area, due to residents’ fears of repercussions if they report incidents.

Six members of the public submitted letters of opposition to the proposal, with several of these echoing concerns over existing crime and anti-social behaviour.

Concerns were also raised over potential loss of privacy to neighbours, noise, parking issues and anti-social behaviour from the residents themselves.

One resident, a former employee of Doncaster Council in children’s safeguarding, stated during the meeting that she held significant concerns over the proposal.

She further claimed that only seven of 40 homes in the surrounding area had received notification of the planning application.

A representative of the applicant stated that several measures will be implemented to mitigate risk, such as high security on the site.

Due to the weight of the proposal, councillors agreed to visit the site and seek opinion from additional council officers before making a decision.