A RESIDENTIAL care home for adults with mental health needs in Merthyr Tydfil has been approved.
The application, which includes the change of use from a six-bedroom house at The Jays, 8A The Grove, to a seven-bedroom residential care home was approved by the council’s planning committee on Wednesday, October 9.
Each of the seven bedrooms at the property will be occupied by only one resident so the home would have a maximum of seven residents at any one time.
It will be occupied by residents with mental health needs who are aged 18 years or over and there will be 2.5 full-time staff members in the day and two full-time waking staff members at night, each of whom will work 12-hour shifts.
Staffing will be provided at the care home 24 hours per day seven days per week, the report said, and staff will provide support with things like personal care, social and recreational needs, vocational re-training, personal budget and finance management, and skill development and re-enablement.
They will also provide support with health needs, access to independent advocacy, positive behaviour management strategies, building links with friends, family, and the community, household tasks, and travel training, the report added.
Councillor Clive Jones had requested the application go before the planning committee to consider concerns raised by local residents, which
included the impact the proposal would have on the character of the residential area, parking availability, on-street congestion, and highway safety.
There were 12 public objection letters received by the council, two of which were from the same objector.
They said that the exact purpose and nature of the proposal was not yet known in relation to the type of care home residents and that the proposal could raise significant concerns, in particular public safety.
They said the traffic and parking situation in the area needed to be considered and the road was extremely busy and was already subject to indiscriminate parking along the yellow lines outside the application property.
They said the proposed business was significantly out of context with the residential character and cohesion of the area.
There were also comments about the impact on property values, the potential for noise and disturbance, and that the care home should be located in an alternative location that was more appropriate.
In recommending approval, officers said the supporting information submitted as part of the application stated that the residents of this care home would have mental health issues and the level of care and needs of residents would be a matter for their carers/staff to assess and would not be a planning consideration.
They added that it was considered the relationship between the proposed development and the surrounding properties would be acceptable and that the proposed development, given the nature of its use, would not be considered out of context with the character of the street scene or residential make-up of the immediate surrounding area.
The officers said responsibility for dealing with any issues that could not be controlled by the care home staff would be shared by a number of agencies such as the police and the care home manager.
They said concerns regarding the type of residents of the care home and the level of care they needed would not be a material planning consideration and would be outside the control of the local planning authority.
They added that a property which was occupied by no more than six people living together as a single residence, where care was provided, did not require planning permission so any noise and disturbance which could be associated
with the use of a residential care home could also be associated with the use of a private residential property.
They said the proposed development would be served by six on-site parking spaces and the need for parking under the proposed use would not be considered significantly greater or significantly more detrimental to highway and pedestrian safety than the extant use.
They concluded that the level of parking proposed would be acceptable and no highway objections were raised to the proposed development.
And the officers said the proposed site layout plan showed that the proposed residential care home, which lies in a sustainable location, would be served by adequate on-site parking for a development of this nature.
Councillor Michelle Jones said she thought the development was acceptable and given its proposed use would not be considered out of context with the character of the area.
She said she sympathised with residents but the council just had to consider the impact of the proposal on the character of the area, parking and highway safety.
Councillor Clive Jones said this would change the nature of the residential use and would be at odds with the existing housing in the area to the detriment of the character of the area.
He said residents didn’t want a business that would be running 24 hours a day, seven days a week next door to them or across the road.
Cllr Jones said traffic problems and congestion would “undoubtedly occur” with an increase in on street parking and congestion to the detriment of highway safety.
