Fresh plans for children's home in former Jarrow B&B - this is what's different in the proposals

Care provider Artemis Support’s initial application to convert the former Bede’s Well bed and breakfast business at the junction of Bede Burn Road and Rede Street, Jarrow, was withdrawn in 2018 following local objections.

Its revised plans have now been submitted to South Tyneside Council and cater for four children instead of five and youngsters aged 10-18 rather than five-17.

Charles Tosan, Artemis Support’s operations director, said: “This application contains key differences from the previous one in that it will house just four children rather than five and will accommodate both boys and girls who have learning disabilities instead of emotional and behavioural needs.

“It is proposed that the home will function in the same way as a typical family home for the benefit of the children.

“The young people will be supervised round the clock and the priority will be to accommodate children from South Tyneside in the first instance as there is very limited resourced currently to offer this sort of provision.”

Among the initial objections were claims that the home’s children might be “volatile” although supporters stressed that “every child deserves a chance”.

Newcastle-based Artemis has been operating for more than 10 years and currently runs three children’s homes, one of which is for children with learning disabilities.

Education watchdog Ofsted would conduct interviews with the manager before the home opened and it would be visited monthly by an independent children’s home Inspector, as well as undergoing an annual inspection by the council, totalling 14 inspections on average in any given year.

Artemis and Lichfields, the national planning and development consultancy which has lodged the planning application on Artemis’s behalf, held a public consultation event to inform the public about the new proposals in January this year.

Lichfields’ senior director Michael Hepburn said: “A new children’s care home will provide a positive new use for the vacant bed and breakfast property, providing an essential services for local children within their own community by enabling them to receive specialist care in a residential environment.”

The plans include off-street parking and an outdoor play area for the children at the property’s rear, which would be renamed Holmside.

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