Border Telegraph | News | Fears over care home

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Wednesday, 12th April, 2006 09:51

Fears over care home

By Border Telegraph Newsroom

PLANS for a children’s home in a Galashiels street have caused concern.

Applicants Tweed Child Care intend to buy and convert Wheatlands House, in Lea Brae, into a home for around four or five children, up to the age of 16.

Wheatlands House is currently occupied as a private home, but Scottish Borders Council has confirmed the application for change of use.

Eddie Lamb, of Tweed Child Care, said: “The plan is for it to be a children’s residential home where kids that aren’t able to live with their families, for whatever reason, would be living.

“I am going to be employing a social worker to run the place. Once we hopefully have the change of use through, then the next move would be to speak to the Care Commission, but that is quite a bit down the road.

“The property is ideal. It is a big old house with plenty of character, and it is absolutely perfect for a home like that. It would be a thing that would benefit people.”

But the plans have been met with concern and suspicion by residents in Lea Brae.

Jacqueline Ritchie said: “We have never had any trouble in our street. Our kids run about in the street, and I don’t fancy this at my back door.

“Nobody is happy about it. You don’t need to worry about the kids now, but you don’t know what is going to be here. It is the uncertainty.

“Is it going to be kids with problems? Are they going to cause trouble? You just don’t know. We are certainly not happy about it.”

But David Kilshaw, acting as agent for Tweed Child Care, says the location of Wheatlands House is essential to the plans.

He said: “The whole concept of having a community setting is that they are based within areas that are residential, and that is the vision of de-institutionalising care provision.

“There was a children’s home on Abbotsford Road in Galashiels which seemed to function fairly well.”

But Mrs Ritchie is not convinced.

She said: “If it is an Edinburgh company, does it mean that the kids will be brought down from Edinburgh?

“Maybe they are thinking they will have one in the Borders because they can’t get one in Edinburgh. Are we a soft touch for them?

“If it is handicapped kids then we don’t have a problem, but if it is kids that are going to cause a problem, then we have enough trouble without adding to it.”

All residential children’s homes must first be registered with the Care Commission before they can operate. Registration cannot be granted before the applicants have received planning permission for the building.

A spokesperson for the Care Commission said: “To date we have not received an application form for registration of this service.

“Now that we have this information we will be in contact with the organisation to check their intentions and to advise on the registration process.”

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