Councillors have approved a house in Romford to be used as a parent assessment unit.

The Brentwood Road property is currently being used as a house of multiple occupation (HMO) that can rented by up to eight people.

In a Havering Council planning committee meeting on Thursday (April 13), it was decided by members that the house can be used as a centre where parents and an infant can stay for 12 weeks under the supervision of qualified social workers to determine if they are fit to care for the child.

The two-storey end of terrace house will be self-contained for their needs, including a kitchen, toilets and a garden area.

Children in Mind, an organisation that supports vulnerable children and parents, submitted the application and will have their staff look after the wellbeing of the residents.

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The approval is subject to 11 pre-conditions. Only up to five families with a maximum of two children each can stay on the property at any given time, the proposal said.

A planning officer clarified during the meeting that if there are more than two children in a family, more rooms would be allocated for them.

Councillor Judith Holt, of St Albans Ward, raised concerns about the application during the meeting.

She believed the assessment unit could lead to “over development” of the site, with up to 15 people residing there.  

She told the committee: “It does worry me just a little that there are so many conditions that need to be imposed that some seem like they should have been thought of at the start in the first place.

“I think it’s not a right place for a family assessment. It’s on the corner of quite a busy road and the garden is not very big."

She also highlighted the issue of noise owing to the place being occupied by babies. The planning officer assured that the rooms and the loft area will be sound proofed to address the issue.

The unit will house parents from not just Havering but also other boroughs and the officer claimed the conditions are meant to make the place more suitable for the purpose.

The property can go back to being an HMO if the assessment unit does not function satisfactorily in the next ten years.