Birmingham City Council Planning Committee 17 September 2015
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Birmingham City Council Planning Committee 17 September 2015 I submit for your consideration the attached reports for the North West team. Recommendation Report No. Application No / Location / Proposal Approve – Conditions 8 2015/06080/PA 46 Maney Hill Road Sutton Coldfield Birmingham B72 1JR Change of use from dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to a Children's care home (Use Class C2) for 4 children aged between 10 and 16 with up to 4 staff members at any one time providing 24 hours of care and associated car parking. Page 1 of 1 Director of Planning and Regeneration Committee Date: 17/09/2015 Application Number: 2015/06080/PA Accepted: 03/08/2015 Application Type: Full Planning Target Date: 28/09/2015 Ward: Sutton Vesey 46 Maney Hill Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B72 1JR Change of use from dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to a Children's care home (Use Class C2) for 4 children aged between 10 and 16 with up to 4 staff members at any one time providing 24 hours of care and associated car parking. Applicant: Meadows Care Ltd Egerton House, Wardle Road, Rochdale, OL12 9EN Agent: GHP Architects Empire House, Mulcture Hall Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1SP Recommendation Approve Subject To Conditions 1. Proposal 1.1. Planning permission is sought to change the use of a vacant five bedroom detached dwelling house (Use Class C3) into a children's care home (Use Class C2) for 4 children aged between 10 and 16 with up to 4 carers providing 24 hour care, and provision for two off street car parking spaces. 1.2. The children's care home would be operated by the applicant Meadows Care Limited. Meadows Care Limited is a long standing childcare organisation with 17 other children's homes in Lancashire and Yorkshire. They state that their overarching goal is to provide safety, nurture, and consistency and give disadvantaged children a hope of future success and life opportunities they may have been denied as their needs have previously been disregarded or missed. They provide high staffing levels to ensure that all children are well supervised and that they act as corporate parents. As a children’s home the property would be registered with and closely regulated by Ofsted. 1.3. The children placed at the home are in care with Birmingham City Council and would be given a risk assessment prior to being placed at the care home to ensure their needs can be met and to ensure they are compatible with other children placed at the care home. The children would attend a mainstream school and would receive therapeutic care and/or educational support where necessary. 1.4. Staffing would comprise 1 registered or deputy manager (working 9am to 5pm daily) and 3 care workers during the daytime and 2 care workers during the evenings. Care workers would work either a 12 hour or 24 hour rota with shift handover between 10am and 12noon. Page 1 of 14 1.5. Visitors would include health/educational professionals and parents of children in care. 1.6. The layout of the ground floor of the property would remain unchanged and comprises a lounge, family room, dining room, reception hallway, utility room, kitchen and shower room. The layout of the upper floors also remains unchanged and comprises three bedrooms and two bathrooms at first floor and two bedrooms in the rooms within the roofspace. It is proposed that the fifth bedroom would be used by one Care Worker during the evenings. The basement would remain as storage rooms. The outdoor space to the rear of the property measures 195sqm however due to the changes in site levels and planting areas, the useable outdoor amenity space measures 112sqm (28sqm per resident). 1.7. The existing garage and driveway provides 2 off-street car parking spaces. 1.8. Link to Documents 2. Site & Surroundings 2.1. The application site relates to a 0.044 hectare rectangular residential plot, which contains a two storey detached dwelling house with a single storey rear extension, basement and rooms within the roof space. The site also contains a private rear garden and garage with vehicular access off Maney Hill Road. The site is located on the south side of Maney Hill Road and the house sits on higher ground level above the garage, driveway and adjoining footpath and road. The rear garden rises south to north and is tiered along the rear boundary of the site. The front boundary provides a retaining wall to the site and the side and rear boundaries comprise a 1.8 metre high boundary fence. The property is vacant. To the rear of the site is a substation which is enclosed by a 1.8 metre high timber boarded fence. 2.2. The surrounding area is residential in character comprising mainly large single family dwelling houses with off-street car parking. There are bungalows in close proximity of the site located on Maney Hill Road, Sandy Croft and Moss Drive and a block of flats (St Peter's Close) located on the corner of Birmingham Road and Maney Hill Road. Maney Hill Road is a relatively busy road that connects Birmingham Road (A5127) with Wylde Green Road, which provides access to Walmley Road (B4148). 2.3. The site is located in a highly accessible location. It lies approximately 300 metres from Birmingham Road where there are a number of bus stops providing regular bus services to other parts of the City. Sutton Coldfield Town Centre lies approximately 314 metres to the northwest of the site and a small shopping parade known as Beeches Walk lies 340 metres to the west of the site. Sutton Coldfield Railway Station lies to the north of Sutton Coldfield Town Centre. There are a number of primary and secondary schools within the vicinity of the site including Maney Hill Primary School, Plantsbrook Secondary School and Sixth Form College, Bishop Walsh Catholic Secondary School and Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls. Maney Hill Primary School has extended to a two-form entry school this school year 2015-2016 following the approval of a planning application for a temporary classroom building. St Peter's Church of England school also lies on Maney Hill Road. 2.4. Site Location 3. Planning History Page 2 of 14 3.1. 12 December 1963 - 56111004 - Planning permission approved for extension. 3.2. 21 June 1963 - 56111005 - Planning permission approved for extension of bathroom, bedroom and WC. 3.3. 29 June 1992 - 1992/02289/PA - Planning permission approved for erection of extension comprising sitting room over garage and widening of footpath crossing, subject to conditions. This consent was not implemented. 3.4. Related planning application at Maney Hill Primary School 3.5. 3 September 2015 - 2015/04313/PA - Temporary permission granted for a two-year period for the installation of one temporary modular building and access ramp (for a two year period) to create two classrooms for thirty additional children, subject to conditions. 4. Consultation/PP Responses 4.1. Ward Councillors, Residents Associations and nearby occupiers were notified. 4.2. During this application the applicant has provided a letter to all nearby residents introducing their company and providing further information about the proposed use and their intentions of being open and transparent as possible. 4.3. Andrew Mitchell MP supports a number of responses received by email and letter which express deep concern and dismay at the wholly unsuitable location being suggested for this sort of activity and that such a development could be entertained in an entirely residential area. It is recommended that a more suitable property is found for this purpose. 4.4. Councillor Pocock - Concern with the specific proposed use, but also more widely with the basic proposal to re-designate the use class of this property to the whole range of possible C2 uses that could be permitted. This would fundamentally alter the existing residential characteristics of the area. The environment is not suited to the different range of uses that would be permitted. The physical nature of the site is also not appropriate for these uses. It lies on a steep slope and different levels that would be unsuited to care services for people with physical mobility limitations or children in any educational setting. 4.5. A Petition with 244 signatures has been submitted which requests that the planning application is rejected (no reasons given). 4.6. 143 letters of objection received from nearby occupiers, objecting on the following grounds: a. Inappropriate and out of character with the area: - No other commercial businesses, only householders and this application will dramatically change the nature, character and make up of this well established, quiet and safe residential area; -The business would require lorry's and vans for servicing laundry, which is not in keeping with a residential area; - Unsuitable to run a 'for profit' business in a wholly residential area. - Inappropriate location for a business; - Sutton Coldfield needs more houses not less; Page 3 of 14 - The effect of this proposal will be that no one will want to live here and no one will want to eat, drink around this area; and - Signage will seem unslightly against what are well maintained "period" properties. - Impact on community facilities. -Irreversibly change the nature of the community; -Adversely affect the area of built up residential area of good quality housing stock for private families; - Storage of commercial refuse would be unsightly and if not emptied frequently would overflow, smell and represent an eyesore and lead to vermin scavenging; - Very inappropriate to open such a care home in a populated residential area; - The change of use means that the inhabitants have no investment in property for the area, literally and figuratively; and -It cannot be expected that children who have lowered inhibitions (due to their behaviour challenges), and no knowledge of neighbourly etiquette, to observe neighbourly practices.