Plans Approved for Ynysybwl Children’s Care Home Deemed “Gold Standard”

Plans approved for a children’s care home in Ynysybwl are the “absolute gold standard” for cared for children, a councillor has said.
The application for a residential care home for up to four children at The Bield in New Road was approved by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT)’s planning committee on Thursday, September 26.
Councillor Scott Emanuel said: “I think this application is the absolute gold standard for cared for children and it’s set a very high bar for the applications that will be put before us subsequently.”
The planning statement submitted with the application said that up to four children, aged between 0 and under 19 years would live at the property as
their principal residence.
It said children who are in the guardianship of Athena Care Group have been taken into care for a variety of reasons, including fears for their physical and emotional wellbeing and learning disabilities.
The statement said they would usually be long-term residents and would be expected to live independently as adults.
Typically, the reason for the children needing care is simply it is not safe for them to be at home, that they are not yet old enough to live independently or require additional support that cannot be provided elsewhere, the statement said.
South Wales Police said it would not support the application, as it is their view that any child placed at this premises could be put at risk of harm or exploitation due to the identified high incidence of certain crimes in the vicinity of the proposed care home and the over-saturation of care homes within the Taff sector.
But the planning report said that no specific information has been submitted to substantiate the claim that there is an over-saturation of care homes within what South Wales Police refer to as ‘the Taff sector’, and it is considered that the application site is located within a sustainable and predominantly residential area, with good access to services and facilities and within walking distance of play areas.
There were public objections from nine people who raised concerns that children occupying the site would be disruptive and exhibit antisocial behaviour and that the application could risk the health and wellbeing of
neighbouring residents.
They raised concern about the lack of information as well as access, highways safety and parking issues, noise levels, local infrastructure being insufficient and said that an alternative location should be considered.
In recommending approval, planning officers said: “The application site is in located within a predominantly residential area and within the settlement boundary limits of Ynysybwl.
“The site is in a sustainable location with good access to public transport, facilities, and services.
“The site also relates to an existing residential property and, other than the
presence of a small number of staff and an element of care provided, the
proposed use would remain and continue to be largely residential in nature.
“Additionally, no external alterations are proposed at the property, and the
development would not impact upon the character and appearance of the
application property or wider area.
“Furthermore, the development would not be considered to impact or upon the amenity and privacy of surrounding properties, nor would it have an adverse impact upon highway safety.”
Councillor Ross Williams saidthe plans were for a home that he thinks the children could call a home and stay in as a home.
Councillor Danny Grehan said the plans would give the children a better environment to feel a bit happier and a space for them to spend time by themselves outside in the middle of Ynysybwl.
Councillor Jill Bonetto called it a “gorgeous” place for children to live and said she wished they saw facilities like this.
But she said: “Once again we are getting such a negative feedback from some of the objections.
“I really wish people would get their heads around the fact that these children need somewhere to live.”
She said wherever they see these applications there is always somebody coming up with anti-social behaviour concerns, adding “you can have anti-social behaviour in a normal family situation.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​