A house in a residential street could be turned into a children’s home creating 10 jobs if plans are approved by the council.

Mr Kauser, of Clairemoor House, applied to Rossendale Council at the beginning of August seeking to turn Clairemoor House in Tonacliffe Way, Whitworth, into a children’s residential care home.

A supporting statement prepared by Safe Hands, a consultancy for residential childcare, lodged alongside the plans reads: “The proposal would provide medium to long term accommodation for up to three children aged between eight and 17 with emotional behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

“This range is broad as it enables the applicant to look at the individual young person and make an assessment of their needs and whether they can help them in one of their homes.

“They typically take children that have been removed from the care of their parents due to them being abused/neglected, and the applicant provides therapeutic services to help them get over the traumas of their earlier childhood.

“This longer-term arrangement provides stability to the residents and enables them to integrate properly into the community and build strong relationships with their carers.

“The resident children would be those who have been removed from care from their families, essentially this property would provide a bridge between foster care and residential care.

“The running of this care home would be undertaken as close as possible to that of a normal dwellinghouse.

“Any staff training would generally take place off-site and the children would also visit healthcare professionals off-site as per a normal family operation (i.e. doctors, dentists, etc.).

“As well as the children being placed in the local schools in the catchment area, they would also utilise services and facilities in the surrounding area.

“The home will be registered with Ofsted and as such will be subject to all requirements for registration as a children’s home including periodic independent inspection, and the applicant pledges to prioritise children from the local area for placement within the property.”

It is anticipated there would be two to three staff members rotating every 24 to 48 hours.

Visitors delivering therapeutic services or undertaking statutory inspections would also occasionally come to the property (social workers, Ofsted inspectors etc.) but this would be no different to the general frequency of visitors expected to a private home.

Anyone wishing to comment on the plans can do so via Rossendale Council’s planning website.