Proposal for children’s home in Grantham seeks approval from council

Plans to turn a house into a children’s home have been submitted.

Mr Brankin, of Northgate, Newark, has applied to South Kesteven District Council to change the use of a house in Dunster Close, Grantham, into a small care home for two children.

The application for the four-bedroom home, submitted by agent Dawid Komata of DK Plans, will provide five parking spaces and staff for three full-time and two part-time roles.

Documents supporting the application state the home would care for two children, aged eight to 18, with two staff members on duty at all times.

“The children who will live at Dunster Close will have had experiences in their lives that mean they cannot live with their birth families,” said the document.

The applicant confirmed no driveway modifications were needed, as the children do not require extra space to exit a vehicle.

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Staff would sleep overnight to ensure support was available when needed.

A daily handover from 10am to 10.30am may increase vehicles to four, but would have minimal impact on neighbours.

“Although our young people do have multi-agency involvement, we encourage any meetings to be completed either virtually or at another location, as the home is a safe space for our children and not a 'working' venue,” they said, adding that it may be necessary for some visits to occur up to 7pm.

No structural changes are planned, and waste collection will follow the same process as other households.

The applicant said the aim was to integrate the home within the community and challenge negative perceptions of children’s homes.

“We want to remove the stigma the tabloids create regarding children’s homes by demonstrating that our children do belong in communities where they can have better opportunities than they previously had,” they said.