Care company formalises bid for new children’s home in Telford after certificate rejection
A care company has made a formal bid for planning permission to turn a house into a small children’s home after an earlier bid to use a different way of confirming its use was rejected.
The company, iNKFISH Care, had been stunned after Telford & Wrekin Council told it that it that it would not approve a Certificate of Lawfulness on the use of the large house in Teagues Crescent, Trench, as a home for two children.
“It is the applicant’s firm belief that the proposal does not require planning permission, as no material change will occur as a result of the proposal,” said a planning agent for Shrewsbury-based Berrys.
“However, a Certificate of Lawfulness application was submitted to the council to confirm this and the council concluded that a material change of use would occur, and planning permission was required.”
The company say that the detached house is a substantial five-bedroomed property with “ample amenity space and car parking”.
The agents say that the house would see up to two children aged between eight and 18 being able to live in close proximity to their families, schools and clubs.
They will be cared for in a ‘safe and secure’ environment, with the children undergoing “thorough impact risk assessments to ensure they integrate into the local community".
Two adults will provide care for the children 24 hours a day, seven days per week, all year round, and there would be no more than three cars on the driveway at any one time, with street parking “avoided,” the agents say.
They added that whilst a change of use of the property will take place, they believed that a change did not constitute a ‘material’ change and planning permission was not, therefore, required. The council disagreed, saying that they “cannot form a single household".
The agents ask for planning approval “without delay” as the “proposed development is considered to fully accord with the aims and objectives of the adopted development plan.”
A consultation period has begun and the full details of the application are available on Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning website with the reference TWC/2025/0415.
