Appeal over new children’s home in Oldbury
A plan to convert a house into a children’s home that was rejected by the council over fears it would cause “noise and disturbance” could still go ahead.
Sandwell Council rejected a move to convert the home in Dingle Street, Oldbury, into a new residential home for up to three children last year saying it was “unsuited for the area.”
But the owners New Era Residence have appealed to the government’s planning inspector in a bid to get the ruling overturned.
Sandwell Council’s planners said the proposal for the children’s residential home in Dingle Street would not provide enough parking and would cause problems in the cramped street.
The application said the residential home would cater for up to three children as well as three staff during the day and two overnight. Three parking spaces would have been provided.
An application to build a four-bed and a three-bed home on overgrown land in Dingle Street was approved in 2016. An application by Quintella Thompson of New Era Residence for a three-and-two-storey extension and a single-storey rear extension was approved by the council in 2022.
An application by Quintella Thompson asking for permission to convert the house into a residential home for up to three children plus up to two overnight staff was then rejected in August last year.
Nine objections were made by neighbours.
In a report outlining the objection, the council said: “Whilst there would be no obvious physical features that distinguish the property from a normal family dwelling, there would be other notable differences in its use. These differences included staff change-over, early in the morning and late in the evening, weekdays and weekends. This would be very noticeable to neighbouring occupiers, marking the property as something other than a dwelling house. It may also result in a number of vehicles being parked at the property and on-street at any one time including carers, a manager and other professionals visiting the site.”
A plan by the same children’s home provider New Era Residence to convert a home in Lee Street in West Bromwich into a residential home for just one child aged between eight and 17 years old was rejected by Sandwell Council in October last year.
The council’s planners said the children’s home would have a “detrimental impact” on neighbours by causing more “noise and general disturbance.”
Rejecting the application by New Era Residence, the council said the conversion was “not compatible with adjacent uses or suitable for the site.”