A SUM of £1.62m has been approved by Bridgend County Borough Council in order to develop a new children’s residential care home.
The funding was agreed at a full council meeting held by the authority on January 14, and will allow council bosses to purchase and refurbish a property that will be registered with Care Inspectorate Wales.
With approval granted, the project will now be included in the council’s capital programme and initially funded with Bridgend County Borough Council resources.
However the expectation is that these costs will be fully recovered from the Welsh Government’s Housing with Care Fund.
A report given to members said once purchased and converted, the property would be able to accommodate up to four children, resulting in cost savings of almost £300,000 each year.
Officers at the meeting acknowledged that the move would carry some risk if the funding wasn’t recovered, though they added that this risk was relatively low.
The property’s value is estimated at £995,000 with an additional requirement to pay land transaction tax of around £110,000.
Refurbishment and furniture costs are expected to be in the region of £500,000.
The report said: “If fully funded by the Housing with Care Fund, these combined costs would represent a long-term asset at no net capital cost to the council, increasing placement sufficiency, reducing reliance on profit-making external providers, and supporting children to remain close to their local communities.”
It added: “To meet the planned timeline, the council will need to proceed “at risk” with the acquisition while submitting a planning application in parallel.
“The property previously had planning permission for use as a care home, which provides some confidence, but a new application will be required for a children’s residential home.”
While there was general support for the move by councillors some questioned if they were using the best approach given the high costs of the land transaction tax, as opposed to buying land and building a new property from scratch.
Officers said after checks, if the property is in the condition they think it will be, this would be the most effective way forward, avoiding potentially protracted times of tendering, procurement, and increasing build costs.
The deputy leader of the council, Cllr Jane Gebbie said: “Our children deserve the best and they deserve homes closer to where they live which is what we are trying to do here.”
The proposal was later approved unanimously by members in attendance.
