A contentious bid to use five homes for parenting courses has been refused, with Isle of Wight Council officers saying there is no ‘local need’ for it.
Critics of Jon Surman’s change of use application to house a Residential Children and Parent Assessment Centre in Flats 1 – 4 on 14 Park Road, Shanklin, and in a bungalow at 29 Clarendon Road, said plans would force out the properties’ existing tenants.
In an email to County Hall’s planning department last week, children’s services officer Julie Mepham said her team could not, at present, support the proposal.
Planners today rejected the application, writing:
“There is insufficient justification for the proposed Residential Children and Parent Assessment
Centre consisting of three assessment flats and one halfway house which would result in the loss of five smaller residential dwellings.
“On balance, the proposal’s benefits do not outweigh the harm that would be caused to the local housing stock.”
Mr Surman’s agent, SJC Planning, said the centre would offer ‘assisted parenting development courses’, with clients being ‘monitored and helped with parenting techniques and behaviour by qualified social workers and health professionals’.
The plans have been met with objections from residents, Shanklin Town Council (STC) and one of the town’s County Hall representatives, Michael Beston.
STC clerk Stella Janeway said the proposal would result in ‘displacing current longstanding tenants from their homes, one over the age of 80’.
Ms Mepham’s email said:
“After consultation with Kay Jones, service director children’s social care and after our discussion earlier today, our response to the application is that at this time we cannot sign a letter of support.
“Kay met with the proposed provider last year to appraise her of the reasons why children’s services were unable to support the application – namely, there is no current local need on the Island for this type of assessment home and, children’s services could not support an application whereby people would lose their homes.”
Mr Surman said the proposal would bring ‘great value’ to ‘Island families that need the service’ and that there were ‘not many suitable properties’ for the centre.
He said the facility would create ‘over eight to ten’ new jobs, enable families to stay on the Island and improve parenting skills ‘in the short and long term, breaking the cycle of neglect’.
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