Change of use from C3 Dwellinghouse to C2 Children’s Residential Care Home

1. The applicant has failed to provide sufficient information regarding the operation of the proposed children's care home, including details of staffing levels, shift patterns, overnight supervision, visitor activity and day-to-day management arrangements. Consequently, the Local Planning Authority is unable to adequately assess the likely level of activity associated with the use or determine whether the proposal would safeguard the amenities of neighbouring occupiers. The proposal has therefore failed to demonstrate compliance with Policies L1 and D2 of the Dudley Borough Development Strategy (2017), emerging Policies DLP13 and DLP14 of the Dudley Local Plan and Paragraph 135(f) of the National Planning Policy Framework (2024).
2. Insufficient information has been submitted regarding the operational characteristics of the proposed children's care home, including staffing arrangements, shift change procedures, overnight staffing provision and visitor numbers. In the absence of such information, and having regard to the lack of off-street parking provision and existing parking pressures within the surrounding area, the Local Planning Authority is unable to adequately assess the parking demand likely to be generated by the proposed use or determine whether the development would provide satisfactory parking arrangements and maintain highway safety. The proposal has therefore failed to demonstrate compliance with Policy TRAN2 of the Black Country Core Strategy (2011), Policies L2 and S17 of the Dudley Borough Development Strategy (2017), emerging Policies DLP13 and DLP65 of the Dudley Local Plan, the Dudley Parking Standards SPD (2017) and Paragraph 116 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2024). The Local Planning Authority is aware of the requirement of paragraph 39 in the National Planning Policy Framework to work with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner, seeking solutions to problems arising in relation to dealing with the application. In this case, after careful balanced consideration the LPA/Officers considers that there are insurmountable technical issues relating to the lack of adequate information submitted in relation to neighbouring amenity and highway safety that have not been satisfactorily resolved to demonstrate that the scheme would result in the creation of a sustainable form of development and thereby failing to improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area.

No related records were published in this section.