Hartlepool council chief defends young people in care after controversial children's home plans approved

Council leader Shane Moore hit out at those who assume the worst of young people in need as plans were approved for a children’s home providing care to teenagers in Hartlepool – a planning application which had sparked concerns over antisocial behaviour issues in the area.

Hartlepool Borough Council Planning Committee approved proposals from Hennessy Group to provide accommodation and care for up to five young people aged 13-18 at 5 Grange Road.

The property has been operating as a house providing care to children since 2014, however since plans are to extend the age range of the occupants to be housed, and provide one extra bedroom, new plans were submitted.

The proposals involve converting one of two staff bedrooms into a bedroom to provide care for a young person.

Concerns were raised from councillors representing the area over antisocial behaviour issues surrounding the property which have occurred previously.

However police and community safety chiefs raised no objections to the proposals, and council officers stressed how the applicant would be a new provider for the site.

Cllr Shane Moore, council leader, said: “One thing that really grinds me is the automatic assumption that any child entering care or any child needing to go in to a care, whether it be for a permanent or temporary basis, is automatically a wrong ‘un and they’re going to cause trouble, and that really annoys me.”

Cllr Brenda Loynes added the one extra young person who would now be housed at the site should not cause any issues.

She said: “It shouldn’t be that every child is classed as being unruly or whatever.

“We do need to have homes for children, and one extra child, I don’t think will make that much difference, if it was half a dozen more maybe, but one extra I don’t think that’s going to cause too much of a problem.”

Chris Goundry, chief operating officer for Hennessy Group, told the committee more staff would be working at the site than under previous providers.

“We are new tenants, we are a new provider. We will be heavily regulated and have lots of audits, lots of building regulations,” he said.

“The young people we would be looking to support need more staff, so the staffing levels would be increased."

“They wouldn’t necessarily be sleep-in staff, or just one member of staff, they would be working nights, so there would actually be more staff there to support the young people.”

Mr Goundry said the minimum staffing level would be two in any 24 hours, but this would increase depending on the needs of the young people.

Cllr Helen Howson, who represents the Victoria ward where the site is located, raised concerns how in the past there have been reports of antisocial behaviour at the site.

“There have been reports of serious antisocial behaviour, fighting outside 5 Grange Road, and that includes a neighbour who has reported various incidents to the police,” she said.

“There are a lot of concerns about what this is actually attracting into the area and the management of it, people are fearful, they’re very concerned.

“It seems to me any extension of this that is granted is likely to attract more problems.”

Cllr Carl Richardson, who also represents the area, was the only member of the committee who voted against the plans, and raised similar concerns over the impact it could have on residents in the area.

“They have witnessed over the years some, you can only describe as appalling behaviour,” he said.

“I am not confident that the staff that are going to be there are going to have control of that situation especially when we don’t even know who’s going to be in there and what kind of people are going to be there.”

However councillors voted in favour of the plans, agreeing with the officer recommendation ahead of the meeting, noting it is important children get the support they need.

A statement of purpose from the applicant states the site will be run as Aspen House Children’s Home and will provide specialist services to support young people who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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