By James Simons-
A children’s charity has been denied an opportunity to convert a private house into a children’s home, after residents blocked the plan by voicing strong objections against the move.
Break was fortunate to have been granted planning permission from Broadland District Council to turn a property in Brick Kiln Road, Hevingham from a private house into a children’s home. The Haveringham Paris Council did not object against the move which was all set to go, until 18 residents lodged complaints, objecting to the move on the grounds of loss of privacy, impact upon character of the area, and loss of value of property.
Broadland Council, who were also supporting the idea of moving foster children to the private home, were planning to press on with the original plan but the growing pressure on them by residents to halt the plan, eventually was the deciding factor of the withdrawal. In a statement addressing the issue, Hilary Richards, Break chief executive, said: “There are many different issues that we have to consider when we are trying to establish a suitable location for one of our children’s homes, balancing the needs of the vulnerable children and young people we support and those of the wider community”.
“After taking many factors into account, we have decided to withdraw our application in this instance”, Richards said. The foster children had been looking forward to the opportunity of living in a relatively affluent area which may have built their confidence. However, local residents were sceptical about the type of children that may reside in their neighbourhood, and the negative impact it could have on the reputation of the araea, and the devaluation of properties in the area. Staff and children from the foster care home were deeply gutted, as they felt the rejection of society expressed in an instance.
Residents did want to chance living in the midst of wayward and difficult children, which most of the children in care are. They are the neglected unloved victims of disgracefully irresponsible parents who may have contributed to the psychological ruin of their child. Children can change and mature, different environments will always provide different influences, and potentially positive experiences on which to build a better and brighter future. Representatives from Break say they were looking forward to welcoming the children to the village, but had to change their decision because of pressure from Residents.
A spokesperson from Breaks told the eye of media.com “The village has loads of things for children coming into the village to benefit from. We have a fantastic community centre and youth groups that would have been able to welcome the new children coming into the area.
“These children have had to come into the care of Break because they have been in danger. These children could have had good start in our village but I’m gutted that residents have put this pressure on Break.
“These children would have to be looked after around the clock and probably had more support than many of the residents’ own children.