PLANNING STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF:

PROPOSED CHILDMINDING AT 38 ST MARY’S WAY LEICS LE9 7NX

References

This statement refers to the proposal of childminding at 38 St Mary’s Way as identified on the drawing no. 2021/9045/01 as produced by AJS Architectural Services.

Proposal

It is the intention to implement a childminding service from 38 St Mary’s Way, Elmesthorpe to provide much needed childcare within the specific area. As pre-school and nursery places can be expensive and often impersonal the enterprise will provide a flexible alternative to facilities that are presently available. According to chidcare.co.uk there are 12 registered childminders and 2 day nurseries within the immediate vicinity, but none in the village of Elmesthorpe.

Childminding

Leanne West (the applicant) will be the sole employee and the proposed hours will be 7:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday – there will be no weekend childcare on offer. This will prevent any out of hours activity averting any perceived disturbance during evenings and weekends.

There will be a maximum of 6 children at any one time and this total includes three under 5’s and one of Mrs West’s children of which all will be under the age of eight. It is envisaged that where possible the children will be walked to the property keeping the amount of traffic to a minimum, but in the event a child needs to be driven and dropped off or picked up, the property can accommodate 3 cars, two of which will be given up for dedicated drop off/pick up slots by the parents.

Mrs West will be OFSTED registered and has the relevant qualifications for childcare, safeguarding and first aid and has worked in education for over 20 years.

Premises

38 St Mary’s Way is a detached dwelling house within a modern development on the outskirts of Elmesthorpe and . The dining room will provide the play area which opens out to the garden for outdoor play when the weather permits. The garden is 115m2, big enough to facilitate outdoor play with toys and future play structures – outside play time will be restricted to 10am and 4pm. There is a public park 2 minutes-walk from the house and will be utilised when appropriate.

The kitchen would be used at mealtimes and the area combined with the dining room complies with childminding indoor space requirements of 2.3m2 for 3-5 year olds.

Conclusion

The proposal would offer a much-needed childminding service, where there is a demand for smaller settings for childcare and limited availability to local, good quality services. There is support for the new enterprise from neighbours and the local vicinity and the level of care would make it an asset to the local community.

The Adopted Core Strategy states that Elmesthorpe has a limited range of employment opportunities and this new enterprise would provide employment for Mrs West whilst leaving parents who need to travel for work, safe in the knowledge that their children are being well looked after. Policy CS6 also actively seeks to allow work-live applications on residential proposals with the appropriate safeguards on local amenity. The National Planning Policy Framework also sets out that planning policies should be flexible enough to accommodate new working practices such as live-work accommodation.

Policies

Adopted Core Strategy policy CS5 Smaller villages 7.5.26 The smaller villages of Elmesthorpe , , and Thurlaston have a limited range of employment opportunities, services and facilities. They are also not generally well served by frequent public transport. In order to allow for some small scale housing development, and potentially ‘rural exceptions’ housing schemes, a modest amount of development has been proposed.

Policy CS6 : Employment Strategic objectives x) To provide the appropriate quantity, quality and mix of employment opportunities to meet the needs of the District’s current and future populations, and to meet strategic employment, education and training needs.

• Allow the provision of live-work units on residential proposals, subject to these being capable of implementation without adverse impacts on amenity.

• Will promote local labour agreements with developers to enable local people to secure employment and skills development; and • Will support local business in seeking to improve their environmental performance. 7.6.1 The purpose of this policy is to seek to allow for the appropriate quantity and quality of employment

land and premises that will deliver a thriving and diverse economy with high quality employment opportunities. 7.6.2 District occupies an important location in the context of the local economy and employment offer. City (and the wider Leicester Principal Urban Area) is the focus of economic growth within the wider economic area. encompasses some of the PUA.

Policy CS11 – Infrastructure, Services and Facilities to support growth Strategic objectives iii) To deliver the infrastructure, services and facilities required to meet the needs of the population of the District of Blaby, including those arising from growth, and to make services accessible to all; Issues, problems and challenges facing the District 4.14 Some 80% of businesses in the District are micro-businesses employing less than 10 people (BE Group 2011). These businesses require special consideration both in terms of the provision of premises and business support.

National Planning Policy Framework

6. Building a strong, competitive economy

80. Planning policies and decisions should help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt. Significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth and productivity, taking into account both local business needs and wider opportunities for development. The approach taken should allow each area to build on its strengths, counter any weaknesses and address the challenges of the future. This is particularly important where Britain can be a global leader in driving innovation40, and in areas with high levels of productivity, which should be able to capitalise on their performance and potential.

81. Planning policies should: a) set out a clear economic vision and strategy which positively and proactively encourages sustainable economic growth, having regard to Local Industrial Strategies and other local policies for economic development and regeneration; b) set criteria, or identify strategic sites, for local and inward investment to match the strategy and to meet anticipated needs over the plan period; c) seek to address potential barriers to investment, such as inadequate infrastructure, services or housing, or a poor environment; and d) be flexible enough to accommodate needs not anticipated in the plan, allow for new and flexible working practices (such as live-work accommodation), and to enable a rapid response to changes in economic circumstances.

82. Planning policies and decisions should recognise and address the specific locational requirements of different sectors. This includes making provision for clusters or networks of knowledge and data-driven, creative or high technology industries; and for storage and distribution operations at a variety of scales and in suitably accessible locations.

38 St Marys Way

38 St Marys Way garden