Flintshire Council approves children’s home plan in Calcoed
Plans to turn a detached residential property into a children’s care home have been granted by Flintshire County Council.
Local councillors and members of the planning committee said the decision was the hardest they had ever faced as they granted the application in the face of scathing local opposition.
Calcoed, a 65-property hamlet just outside Holywell, was described as a ‘retirement village’ by Brynford and Halkyn Cllr Simon Jones as set out both sides of the case.
The debate was over the change of use of a detached property as a home for three vulnerable children under the care of Flintshire County Council. The application is linked to the Welsh Government’s move towards eliminating profit from children’s care by 2030.
The plans are for minor interior alterations to turn living areas into bedrooms, provide suitable space for live-in carers and ensure adequate off-street parking within the property boundary.
“This is the most difficult case I’ve dealt with in my three years representing the ward,” said Cllr Jones.
“While I have a duty to protect the children of Flintshire I also have a duty to express the views of the community I represent – and there can be no doubt to the wishes of the residents of Calcoed.
“I’ve had people in genuine fear, in tears and distress at the prospect of this planning application being approved. The majority are against this proposal.
“Some may say the community rejection of this care home is ‘nimbyism’, however I would like to remind the committee that a recent application to extend an old-age care home in the hamlet called Allerton Lodge met with no objections.”
One member of the community, John Beaumont, voiced those concerns to the committee.
“We’ve had these in the past,” he said. “We had one in Milwr – I was on the community council for 40 years and we had constant problems with children running amok, terrifying local children and elderly people.
“There were break-ins galore, burglaries, all kinds of problems. Brynford actually had a school built – Ysgol Talfryn – for children that had problems at home. After a few years it was totally unusable as a school. The children were fighting with the staff, wandering around the village at all times of the day and night causing all kinds of problems.”
“The local authority don’t listen to the people, the people do know best. We’ve have meetings and most of the hamlet has turned out for the meetings and are opposed – only one person was not opposed. It’s totally the wrong area for these children.”
Matthew Weatherburn, speaking on behalf of the applicant Action for Children, explained that the property would be licensed by the Care Inspectorate for Wales and operate as a normal family home, with no greater impact than a private residence.
He was backed by Cllr Fran Lister, who also represents Brynford and Halkyn.
“There is a desperate need to support vulnerable children in our community,” she said. “Action for Children already provides vital support for many children across Flintshire – their work is an asset to our county and I do want to thank them for the support they already provide for so many children in need.”
There were a number of supportive voices on the committee.
Cllr Hilary Maguill said: “I have a few properties within my ward run along these lines. I can honestly say we have no issues from these properties. The children are fine, there is no stigma. It’s just the same as someone going to live with their uncle and aunty.
Cllr Gladys Healy echoed that sentiment: “I have two homes in my ward. We must remember we have to look after our children instead of sending them out-of-county.
Cllr Bithell added that this was the right way forward.
“The way we’ve operated in the past has been totally unacceptable,” he said. “We’re spending millions of pounds and the outcome for the young people involved has been quite abysmal.
“We’ve heard mention of Talfryn and so on, I remember those institutions and they didn’t work because of the size and the nature of them.”
The application was approved by a majority vote.
By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter
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