A mum has been granted permission to convert her house into a children’s home – despite facing huge opposition.
Vanessa Idada’s application to transform the five-bed in Cordale Road, Aylesham, was approved unanimously at a Dover District Council planning committee meeting.
Councillors stressed that many of the complaints raised were not relevant to planning law.
The scheme attracted 147 objections, with concerns ranging from potential anti-social behaviour and noise, to fears for the safety and well-being of nearby residents.
But councillors backed the plan, which will see the house used to care for up to three vulnerable children aged 11 to 15, with two staff on duty around the clock.
Ms Idada has moved with her son to Sturry, near Canterbury, to make the property available for the project.
Speaking after the meeting, she told KentOnline: “I was very concerned about the level of opposition.
“But, I’m happy that the members of the council saw that objections were not matter-of-fact to the issue at hand.
“Since there is a shortage of children’s homes and we’ve got vulnerable children out there, they need an actual home that will provide them a realistic environment for them to thrive and maximise their potential.”
Residents had expressed fears of rising crime, noise, and anti-social behaviour.
One neighbour, Julia Hayes, previously said: “Of course, that’s going to have a huge impact with anti-social behaviour.
“And even if they were all golden, well-behaved children, they would still make a lot of noise.”
Meanwhile, Teresa Brooks said: “The proposal to turn our immediate neighbour’s house into a care home fills me with dread… I would not feel safe with neighbours who by the applicant’s admission are ‘troubled teenagers’.”
Planning committee chairman Cllr Jeff Loffman (Lab) acknowledged the strength of opposition but said many of the concerns were not within the remit of the planning process.
“I note that there are a great many objections to this particular application. In fact I don’t recall another application for some time to have quite so many,” he said.
“But we are dealing with planning matters.
“Whether an organisation is or is not appropriate, whether or not what occurs within a children’s home is or is not appropriate, is not a matter for the planning committee.
“It is separately adjudicated and separately monitored, whether it’s by the CQC (Care Quality Commission) or Ofsted.”
He added: “While there may be quite justifiable or not concerns among so many of the objectors, our planning committee is not the place for many of those objections to be taken into consideration. We are bound by our guidelines in relation particularly to planning.”
“There is no evidence to suggest the proposal would increase noise…”
Planning officers had recommended approval, noting that with just three children and two carers, the property’s occupancy would be comparable to a typical family home.
Their report stated: “There is no evidence to suggest the proposal would increase noise or disturbance or cause anti-social behaviour.”
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Cllr James Back (Con) supported the scheme, telling the meeting: “Only three children living here at any one time so it would be no more occupied than a private residence.
“A lot of private houses have noisy and unruly children and the residents of this house could be well behaved. It’s a good idea to give these kids a leg up in life and a stable home life.”
Alongside the objections, 18 letters of support were also submitted, with backers arguing the facility was needed and would create jobs, as well as being no noisier than a standard household.
