Councillor on plans for Bury St Edmunds children's home

Calm365 Healthcare Ltd has requested permission from West Suffolk Council for a change of use at 70 Abbotsbury Road in Bury St Edmunds, to allow for the creation of a children's home for up to two children to stay in. 

Councillor John Augustine, who represents Westgate Ward on West Suffolk Council, said of the proposals: "While I am open to the idea, it's crucial to ensure that the immediate neighbours are on board with the proposal to ensure their support and address any potential concerns they may have.

Councillor John Augustine, who represents Westgate Ward on West Suffolk Council (Image: West Suffolk Council)

"I believe collaborative engagement with the local community will help foster a positive impact on the area, and I am committed to ensuring that their voices are heard throughout this process."

The home, which has three bedrooms and a garage, as well as one off-street parking space, would see up to three carers, two of whom would sleep overnight, working on a rota basis.

The children would live at the property for the long term, perhaps years, and it would not be a halfway house or emergency housing. 

Six carers would operate on a shift pattern of 48 hours on, 60 hours off and, except during 10 minute changeovers, there would no more than three carers on the property at any one time. 

Abbotsbury Road where the home is planned (Image: Google maps)

This comes after Rachel Maclean, minister of state for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said in May this year: "The planning system should not be a barrier to providing homes for the most vulnerable children in society.

"When care is the best choice for a child, it is important that the care system provides stable, loving homes close to children’s communities." 

In October, plans for a children's home in the residential area of Tasman Road, Haverhill, were given the green light by West Suffolk Council, despite several objections from neighbours.