Protest over care home

27 November 2009

RESIDENTS will have to wait even longer to find out if a residential care home housing people with learning and physical disabilities is built near their homes.

At last week's Regulatory Services Committee meeting, councillors voted to defer the application which seeks to demolish a house and to build a two-storey detached building which will be used for a residential care home in Mawney Road, Romford.

Councillors put a halt on the application for a second time because they argued that the bulk, mass and position of the home would be intrusive and un-neighbourly and because of an increase in the levels of noise and disturbance.

Cllr Barry Tebbutt (Con, Brooklands) was also concerned about if there was a need for such a facility and that if the places made available would contribute to the delivery of the Havering's Supporting People Strategy.

Earlier the councillors heard a presentation from a number of residents who opposed the application arguing that it was not in a suitable location.

Resident Mr Green said: "This residential home will be located near a pub, three off licenses and a major road so for people with drink problems I do not see it as a suitable location.

"And we are concerned about the safety for our children because it is near a playing field and there are school children from at least two primary schools who walk past the site."

The application which was also deferred at a earlier meeting would see the care home housing 12 residents with learning and physical disabilities including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar disease.

But Cllr Robert Benham (Con, Brooklands) argued that the residents were opposed to the application because of its location, not because their patients had mental health problems.

He said: "202 local residents signed a petition against this proposal not because they are against people with mental Health problems but because this proposal is in totally the wrong location and would have a negative impact on both local residents and the care home users."

But instead of defending the decision the applicant urged the committee to defer the application so that he could have enough time to persuade the residents.

Before the meeting started a group of around 60 residents staged a demonstration outside of the Town Hall expressing their anger against the application.