Planning Application Submitted for Young People’s Care Home in Hartlepool ...

Dunston Rd Hartlepool, (Location is Approximate)

Care Companies Bid to Create Safe Home for Looked-After Children on Dunston Road Set to go Before Council officials for Consideration.

6th Feb 2026

Proposals have been submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council which could see a large detached house on Dunston Road Hartlepool converted into a small residential care home for vulnerable young people, a move the applicants say is urgently needed and fully in keeping with the character of the area.

A planning application lodged on behalf of Resicare Alliance Limited seeks permission to change the use of the large family home at 18 Dunston Road from an ordinary dwelling to a children’s residential care home (Class C2) accommodating up to three young people aged between the ages of seven to 18. The application follows a refusal last year for a Certificate of Lawfulness on the property, with the council determining that such a use would amount to a material change of use requiring formal planning consent rather than simply being treated as an extension of its existing residential status.

The property itself is said to be a substantial four-bedroom, two-storey detached house with a driveway, double garage and garden, situated in an established residential neighbourhood. Homes surround it on all sides, while local amenities, including an Aldi supermarket, a public house and bus stops, lie within a short walking distance along Dunston Road. According to the applicant’s planning consultants, this makes the location well suited to a small, community-based care setting where children can remain close to everyday services, schools and transport links.

Resicare Alliance, is said to be an independent provider of children’s residential care, with the home said to be operated with a “family-style” environment. Each of the three young residents would have their own bedroom, share communal living spaces, attend school locally, and take part in ordinary day-to-day household routines such as meals, chores and leisure activities. Care would be provided by trained staff working on shifts, with up to three carers present during the day and two waking staff overnight.

The company stresses that staff changeovers would take place during sociable hours and that, in practical terms, the comings and goings would be comparable to those of a typical working household.

Externally, the building would remain largely unchanged, with only a modest extension of hardstanding at the front to create two additional parking spaces. This would bring the total number of available spaces to four, including the reinstated use of the double garage. The applicant argues that this is more than sufficient, given that none of the children would be driving and that many staff could reasonably use public transport given the site’s proximity to bus routes.

In planning terms, the proposal relies heavily on both national and local policy support for specialist housing, particularly for looked-after children. A Ministerial Statement issued in May 2023 is said to have made it clear that the planning system should not act as a barrier to providing stable, community-based homes for vulnerable young people and urged councils to give due weight to such applications where appropriate.

If approved, the scheme would provide specialist accommodation for three children who require support and stability, a need that Resicare Alliance says is acute both locally and nationally. Whether Hartlepool Borough Council agrees that the benefits outweigh any concerns now rests with its planning officers, but the application has been framed as policy-compliant, low-impact and firmly aligned with government guidance on caring for vulnerable young people within ordinary communities.

Its expected Council Officials could make a decision on the proposals by the end of March or Early April 2026...