A terraced house in Wigan where police were called to incidents involving neighbour abuse and window smashing has been given the green light to continue operating as a children's home. Despite having already been in operation for months, All Round Care Ltd have only just been given the go ahead to operate as a one-child unit in Worsley Mesnes.
This was against the wishes of one neighbour on Mottram Drive who claimed residents have been sworn at by children at the home ‘while the carer stood back and did nothing’. Swearing, banging and smashed window incidents led Wayne Young to report the home to police and Ofsted, he told Wigan Council Planning Committee on December 6.
“A number of incidents have occurred,” he told the town hall meeting during his speech objecting to the proposal.
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“One incident involved an elderly neighbour where a child was swearing at them from the property whilst the carers did nothing. A window has been smashed not once but twice. Photo evidence [of the window smashing] was sent to the planning officer. This incident was so loud we were awake from all the banging, we had no option but to ring the police.
“We are now at the point of having the fourth child at the property and the onus is on us to ring the police or Ofsted. This is laughable.”
He went on to say he has had to go to the GP to get sleeping tablets as a result of all the noise. Mr Young wanted soundproofing to be included in the conditions upon approval.
Responding to his speech, Kelly Mills, director at All Round Care Ltd accepted there had been issues but the team ‘acted robustly’ to sort them and the children were moved on. This was the reason given for such a high turnover of children in the short time they have been operating.
“They are young and vulnerable and need a team around them for support,” she told the committee. “There are no issues with parking and the comings and goings would be like any other family home.
“These children need to be supported and not stigmatised and prejudiced. We have access to more support than families do.
“I know we have had a high turnover but we have worked with Wigan Council on that. We now have an 11-year-old who is thriving.”
The councillors on the planning committee were unanimous in their concern about noise issues. The condition of soundproofing to be done within two months of the decision was included by planning officers.
An additional condition to only allow changeover of staff to occur between 8am and 8pm, the planning officer stated. The applicant explained to the chamber this changeover would usually happen at around 10am anyway.
With that agreed, the committee were happy to green light the proposal - despite their distaste that the application was made after they started operating as a children's home.
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