PLANS to build a children’s care home in a ‘peaceful’ residential area have been met with outrage by people on the surrounding streets.

An application is currently being considered by Barnsley Council’s planning board to repurpose Mill House on Redbrook Road, Gawber, into a children’s care home.

The application, put forward by Loughborough-based Compass Children’s Homes, will see the large building re-planned to provide care and accommodation for six young people aged between seven and 18-years-old, and accommodation for sleep-in staff.

Compass offers semi-independent living to young people with complex care requirements, providing support and educational facilities for those people within a controlled environment - all of which is regulated by Ofsted.

Among the range of conditions Compass provides care for, listed on its website is ‘children with problematic sexualised behaviours’ - children who may have been subject to abuse or other experiences that lead to behavioural problems.

And while Compass told the Chronicle the facility will not exclusively care for such people, the plans have been met with staunch opposition from residents who question whether the quiet area of Gawber is the most suitable place for such a facility.

Dael Baxter, 34, who lives adjacent to the site with his partner and three children, said he worried about the potential impact on his young family.

“As a parent I have a duty of care for my family first and foremost,” said Dael.

“I’m literally 50 yards from that site. Our back garden backs straight onto it.

“The company’s website says it provides care for seven to 18-year-olds with problematic sexual behaviour. That means that in that house could be 18-year-old adults with sexual issues, in a residential area with children.

“That’s a big no-no, it can’t happen. Our children don’t need to be exposed to that kind of behaviour.

“We chose this house because the location was nice and peaceful and out of the way.

“Even with other behavioural issues, you’re thinking, are they violent? Could they be setting fires on the street?”

Louise Masters, 42, who lives on nearby Intake Road, said: “It’s not just naughty kids, it’s children with serious behavioural problems.

“There are plenty of areas that are a bit more out of the way than this. It’s not the middle of nowhere, it’s a very peaceful, low-crime community.

“I grew up here and we’d always been really safe running around the woods as kids. It’s been a quiet safe haven.

“This home is potentially putting other children at risk.”

Louise currently visits her father, who lives next door to the site on Redbrook Road, in hospital as he recovers from an operation - and she said she worries about his recovery if the plans were to go through.

Compass currently runs 13 residential homes across England and Wales.

Ben Jordan, head of residential services, said the company understood the concerns of residents and reassured them that the home would be a ‘much-needed asset’ to the local area.

Ben said: “The home in question will provide high-quality and closely-supervised residential care for up to six young people needing a ‘home from home’ environment before moving to a more stable family setting than that which they may have left.

“The planning application for this home is not specifically to care for children with problematic sexualised behaviour.

“The home will be designed to a high standard with excellent facilities for the children.

“It will be run by an experienced team of experts and regulated by Ofsted and the progress and activities of each young person will be continually monitored.

“Ensuring their wellbeing, together with that of our neighbours - with whom we are always fully engaged - is central to everything we do.

“Compass Children’s Homes provides care for hundreds of children a year in homes across the country and we look forward to providing this much-needed asset for the benefit of everyone in the local area.”

The application can be found on Barnsley Council’s planning website here.

Comments can be made on the application until May 25.