Planners refuse supported housing unit for care leavers in Telford

Avisant Consulting wants to use a four-bedroom house in Ardern Avenue, Dawley for teenagers who are making the transition from being in care to starting independent living.

Agents at Shrewsbury-based En-Plan told Telford & Wrekin Council planners that they “assert” the change of use of the inter-war-built property would fall within permitted development.

The company said that six or fewer residents living together where care is provided can be considered a single household.

It added that “even if there is full-time care/support on site, this doesn’t mean the residents can’t form a single household”.

“There is a significant amount of experience, appeals and case law which shows that supported living arrangements for up to six people can fall within use class C3 (b) [not more than six residents living together as a single household where care is provided for residents].”

An application for a Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use or Development was submitted to confirm the proposed use is lawful.

The agents added that an Ofsted registration application is in progress and the inspector has “requested confirmation from the council of the proposed use class”.

The property is a semi-detached, four-bedroom house on a residential estate.

“The residents will essentially live as one unit, which is in essence the whole reasoning behind the scheme as this model offers the most support to the residents as they move towards full independence,” the agent added.

But council planners in refusing to issue the certificate said they needed more information.

The officers said: “Whilst it has been outlined that the proposed use would house care-leavers between the ages of 16 and 19, the number of users to reside within the premises has not been confirmed.”

They also wanted details on the number of staff, shift patterns and change-over times, as well as a “detailed overview of the level of care to be provided or confirmation on the exact nature of the proposed use”.

The officers acknowledged that the property use class does cover up to six people living together as a single household where care is provided for residents.

“Without this information, the local planning authority cannot be certain that the proposed use would fall within use class C3 (b), rather than the use class C2.”

They added that the information would help them understand exactly what is involved.

“As insufficient information has been submitted at this time, it cannot therefore be determined if a material change of use would occur as a result of the proposal,” the planners added.

“It is considered that a certificate cannot be issued for the proposed change of use of the property.”