Another bid for children's home switch at a residential property
By Naomi Greenaway - Local Democracy Reporting Service 31st Jul 2026
A FAMILY home in Chafford Hundred could be converted into a children's care home under new plans aimed at helping address a national shortage of placements for vulnerable young people.
Inhaus Group has applied to Thurrock Council to change the use of a three-bedroom detached property in Davis Road into a small residential children's home.
If approved, the home would accommodate up to two children aged between seven and 17 with emotional and behavioural needs.
In planning documents, the applicant stressed the property would continue to function and appear as a normal family home.
"The property will continue to present to Davis Road as the ordinary detached family house that it is," the application states.
The Ofsted-registered home would operate in accordance with the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Children Act 1989. Care would be provided around the clock by a team including a registered manager, deputy manager and four residential support workers, with one member of staff sleeping on site each night.
According to the application, the property would retain a "domestic character and rhythm", with two children living in a home environment while attending school, sharing meals and being cared for by trained adults.
No significant alterations are proposed. The house, which already has two parking spaces, would retain its existing appearance, with the only physical change being the installation of secure cycle storage at the rear.
The applicant says the proposal would help meet growing demand for residential care placements for looked-after children.
In its submission, Inhaus Group said there is a "national shortage of residential placements for looked-after children" and that councils, including Thurrock, are urgently seeking additional provision.
"This proposal answers that need and that policy direction directly," the application states.
"It delivers social infrastructure of a kind that authorities, Thurrock among them, are urgently seeking, within an existing building and at no cost to the public purse."
The applicant has also indicated it is willing to discuss planning conditions with the council, including a restriction on the number of residents.
Essex Highways has requested further details, including a parking layout plan and information about the proposed secure cycle storage.
Over recent months there has been a significant increase in applications to switch family domestic dwellings to care homes. Here are some of the stories.
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