Home for children in care approved in hamlet despite concerns

A home for children who have suffered trauma and exploitation has been approved in a small hamlet in North Yorkshire despite concerns from local residents.

North Yorkshire Council has granted a certificate of lawful use for the detached property in Whashton Green, near Richmond, to operate as a home for children in care.

The application was submitted on behalf of A Wilderness Way Ltd, a care provider which works with children who have suffered trauma and exploitation and are in crisis.

The company already has homes in Cumbria, Northumberland and Lanarkshire, and says the secluded properties aim to provide a “peaceful, safe and rural” home for the children.

Supporting documents say the home would be occupied by one child aged between eight and 17 at a time, as well as two carers.

They add: “The use would not require any internal changes to the property.

“The child would have a bedroom that could be locked for privacy, with the carers having a master key should it be required.

“The carers (no more than two at any one time) would have their own bedrooms for when they are staying at the property. These bedrooms could be locked for their own privacy.”

The certificate was granted despite concerns from local residents and community leaders.

Whashton Parish Meeting said residents had concerns about the behaviour of the occupants and said they would prefer the property to be used by a family.

The group added in its response to a consultation: “This sounds like a speculative approach and if successful would result in a purchase for a use that is often not popular and not supported by local residents who don’t know the category of the actual users, which is certainly the case with this application.”

The group also said it was concerned the primary aim of the applicant was to build a property portfolio.

A local resident added: “(The property) is not set in the wilderness in open countryside, but in the small hamlet of Whashton Green, which comprises of five households, three of which are occupied by elderly and possibly vulnerable pensioners, who have all expressed concerns of safety.”

“(There is) also a holiday business, which could be seriously affected by the arrival of a care home for disturbed young adults.”

Issuing the certificate, North Yorkshire Council ruled that planning permission was not required as there was no material change in the use of the house.