South Kesteven District Council rejects plan to turn house in Colsterworth into children’s care home

Plans to convert a village home into a children’s care home have been refused.

South Kesteven District Council's planning committee rejected Esland North Limited’s proposal to turn a four-bedroom house in School Lane, Colsterworth into a care home at a meeting on Thursday (May 8).

The plan involved using the detached two-storey property, currently a residential home, to house two children aged six to seven, living and socialising together in a family-style setting.

Care would have been provided around the clock by staff working in shifts, with no staff living permanently at the property. Two or three carers would have operated on a rota of two days on and four days off, with two staff on site overnight to supervise and share facilities.

Chief operating officer Rachael Allen highlighted Esland’s “proud track record” for providing homes and child-centric services tailored to individual needs.

“Safeguarding is at the heart of what we do,” she told members of the committee.

She also said the care home would “operate as closely to a normal family home as possible”.

Meanwhile, Ian Thorpe, who lives next door to the property and has lived in the village for 30 years, argued the location was inappropriate for a care home.

“The boundaries are not secure on the property so the children could escape,” he said.

Ward councillor David Bellamy (Con), in a statement, backed Colsterworth and District Parish Council’s formal objection, acknowledging the “great concern and stress” this type of planning application can have on residents’ mental health and house prices.

He also urged that the two-child limit in the proposal should be a “cast iron condition” if it were approved.

However, despite officers recommending the application for approval, councillors raised health and safety concerns due to the property’s close proximity to the River Witham and the lack of secure boundary treatments.

Committee chairperson Charmaine Morgan (Ind) said: “With the best will in the world, I just don’t feel we can guarantee the safety of the children on that site—not without making significant changes to the actual property overall.”