Cornwall Council has spent almost £1.5m buying and adapting a barn complex in North Cornwall for use as a children’s home.

Cardinham Barns will be registered with Ofsted as a residential home for up to three disabled children and young people with complex needs and behaviours.

Cardinham Barns, which was previously let by luxury self-catering company Perfect Stays, was on the market with estate agents Rohrs and Rowe for a guide price of £1.195m.

The council purchased and adapted the complex, near Lanhydrock House, for £1.486m.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: “The council has a legal duty to provide suitable care and support to disabled children and their families, and this development exemplifies our commitment to providing high quality and effective support to meet their needs.

“Staffed by trauma-informed experts, it will offer young people a safe home before moving on to a permanent home or being reunited with family.

“It comprises three barns which have been specifically adapted to meet the needs of the children and young people who will use them.

“The setting has space for the children to be actively involved in outdoor pursuits, with support, which is helpful for those who have experienced trauma.

“It is also very tranquil, which will be of benefit to young people with autism in particular as they seek to develop communication and independent living skills.”

The council has three other registered children’s homes in Cornwall. One is for residential short breaks and two are for residential long-term care.

Cardinham Barns is based next to 600 acres of unspoilt Forestry Commission woodland and boasts around six acres of land, including mature gardens with large areas of open lawns and a small stream meandering through the garden and into the woodland.

Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, cabinet member for children and families at Cornwall Council, said: “We are delighted to have purchased Cardinham Barns as part of our ongoing commitment to support children and young people with complex needs.

“As a local authority, it is our responsibility to provide a safe, supportive and loving environment for these children to give them the stability they deserve.

“This provision will also reduce the need for costly agency support in the community when placements are not available.

“We are looking to open the home as soon as possible, once registration has been completed with Ofsted and staff have been recruited.

“We can’t wait to get it up and running.”

PA23/01085/PREAPP: Proposals for the redevelopment of a storage area to provide starter units for new businesses on a Bodmin industrial estate need to be re-thought.

That’s the verdict of Cornwall Council in its pre-application advice to David Goad, the applicant.

He submitted a pre-application advice enquiry titled: “Pre application advice for Development of 1140m2 island site in the middle of Cooksland industrial estate. The proposal is to put in 600m2 of industrial unit with 5m eaves which can be split into small starter units of let as a whole. The proposal is to build the shell and let the internal areas as required by local businesses.”

The address of the proposed development is at Unit 5 Cooksland Industrial Estate Bodmin.

In response to the plans, a planning officer for Cornwall Council said: “The application site is located within the existing industrial estate known as Cooksland Industrial Estate at the eastern edge of the settlement of Bodmin.

“At present the area in question is used as storage (use class B8) for Unit 4B, currently occupied by Mato Olympic. The proposal is for the redevelopment of the site to provide a number of starter units.

“The information provided with the enquiry noted that 600sqm of floor space was to be provided, which could be sub-divided into 6 smaller units, in two banks of three units with two parking spaces for each unit provided.

“During a Teams call with the applicant it was noted that alternative site layouts and proposed numbers of units were already being investigated.

“A reduction in the amount of floor space being provided, to enable adequate vehicle access, turning and parking forms part of the advice set out below.

“This assessment has been prepared based on the information provided and aided by a site visit, electronic mapping and electronic imagery, aerial photographs, site planning history and consideration of the proposal in relation to the relevant planning policies and guidance.

“A teams meeting was also held with the applicant and the matters discussed during this meeting have been incorporated into this advice.

“The site is located within the Cooksland Industrial Estate which is identified in the Site Allocation DPD under Policy Bd-E4 as a site that is safeguarded for employment uses in line with Policy 5 of the Cornwall Local Plan Strategic Policies 2010-2030 for use classes B2, B8 and E(g) (i)-(iii) (formerly B1).

“The proposal would result in the loss of an area currently used as storage and any future application would need to provide adequate information to justify/ ensure that this loss had been adequately considered.

“Bodmin is currently in the process of preparing a Neighbourhood Development Plan, with the process currently at public consultation stage. Given that the process is at a relatively early stage very limited weight is currently given to the policies contained within. In any event at present policies covering employment do not cover this area.

“Given that the site allocation covers Use Classes B2, B8 and B1 (now E(g)) and the site’s close proximity to the new residential development of Highfield Park, it is unlikely that a B2 use class would be acceptable.

Further, given the recent change in the Use Classes Order it may be necessary to limit Class E uses to E(g), which directly corresponds to the former B1 Use Class included in the Site Allocation DPD.

“Subject to the above limitation it is considered that the proposed use of the site as starter units, which are likely to create new employment opportunities through the provision of business space, fit with the intentions of the Site Allocations document and the development acceptable in principle, subject to consideration of other relevant planning matters.

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