Lancaster house could be turned into children’s home

Tranquil Children's Care Ltd, based in Lytham St Annes, have applied for the property at 6 Cockersand Drive in Hala to be altered to establish a new children's home.

The property would accommodate young people between the ages of eight and 18, with two members of staff on duty each day completing a 24-hour shift.

There would also be a manager working at the home Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm.

Patrick McGovern, on the company's behalf, said: "The proposed children's home aims to provide a warm and supportive residence for children in need of a stable environment, where their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being will be nurtured.

"Our team will be comprised of dedicated professionals with extensive experience in child care, counselling, and education, ensuring that each child's unique needs are met with compassion and expertise.

"We are dedicated to creating a space where each child can flourish academically, emotionally, and socially, setting them on a path towards a successful and fulfilling future.

"Our home will reflect that of a family home and will have no more than two young people residing at any one time. The home will run as any normal family home would in the community with no disruption to anyone within the local community.

"The home has been chosen due to the big living space for the young people to spend time. The home has an adequate garden space for young people to spend time and engage in activities, with it also being enclosed and away from other homes.

"We will not just support our young people, we care about them and their well-being, we will treat each young person as an individual, and work towards encouraging them to be the best that they can be.

"We want our home to be seen as a positive part of the community."

However, Annette McNeil, senior commissioning manager for policy, commissioning and children's health at Lancashire County Council, has expressed her concerns about the proposals.

She said she was not aware of the company and had not discussed it with them, noting there was no reference to or commitment to work collaboravely with the local authority to prioritise local homes for Lancashire children.

She also questioned unclear details about the number of children who would be staying at the home and the subsequent staff:child ratio.

She added: "Whilst we do have a need for smaller homes, they need to be the right kind of homes (i.e. aimed at caring for children with more complex needs/behaviours) and they need to be being opened by providers who are fully commited to working closely with Lancashire County Council to provide homes for our children.

"We already have too many homes in our area that are caring for children from out of area (more than 60% of agency children's homes in Lancashire do not have a Lancashire child living there).

"This puts a really high strain on local services such as policing, schools and health.

"Therefore in the absence of any meaningful conversation with this provider and no assurance that they would prioritise Lancashire children, I do not support this planning application."