Children's home plan for Wolverhampton house rejected ­– this is the reason why

Wolverhampton Council ruled that the two-bedroom house in Deans Road was unsuitable for use as a care home.

The application had been lodged by care-home provider Flipping the Script, which specialises in providing support to youngsters who have suffered difficulty in their early lives.

The application said only one child would live in the house at any one time, supported by two members of qualified staff.

Company director Veleta Brown said: “This proposal seeks to provide a permanent medium to long-term residential home for children. A chance to provide a normal or traditional home environment to those who have not had that previously, the ability to live in a traditional home, within a residential area best fits this proposal.

“There is no material difference in the way this property will operate from its previous use.

“It will remain a dwelling-house, it will retain the appearance of a dwelling-house.

“The character of use will remain the same and there will be no greater level of disturbance or amenity impact.”

Planning officer Roz Whitehouse said that while there would be no physical alterations to the property, the level of support required would mark a significant change in use.

"Due to the complexity of the use it is considered that it would not operate in the same way as a typical single household and would therefore be out of character with the surrounding area," she said.

"It is considered that due to the staffing shift patterns, manager and family visits the proposal would result in inadequate parking provision to serve the host property, which in turn is likely to result in additional on-street parking."

She added that frequent comings and goings due to staff changeovers would have an unacceptable impact on neighbours, increasing noise levels.