Council's £1.26m plans for a new children's home in Ashington will not happen after it fails to purchase the desired property

Northumberland County Council’s cabinet approved a £1.26m proposal in March 2023 to purchase and convert Black Close House in Ashington, but as the council was later unable to secure the purchase of the property these plans have been shelved.

Instead, cabinet members will be asked to approve an alternative plan to acquire as many as six different two or three bedroom properties and create multi-building children’s homes at a meeting on Tuesday, July 11.

A report to cabinet members said: “The inability to progress the Black Close property has afforded residential services the opportunity to consider the recently introduced multi-building children’s home registration.

“This permits a provider to care for up to six children across four buildings within this one single registration.

“A multi-building children’s home should enable residential services to make child-centred decisions about where each child lives and ensure that their individual needs are met within this one registration.

“It will mean that the service will be better equipped to offer a place to a child who needs somewhere to live quickly or who cannot easily live with other children immediately.”

It is also proposed that existing children’s residential homes run by Northumberland County Council are re-registered as multi-building homes in conjunction with new properties when they are acquired.

Of the 57 Northumberland children living in children’s homes, only 10 currently reside within the county’s borders. The new proposals will increase the number of beds available to 21.

It will also allow for more tailored support to children with the most complex needs or older young people that are preparing for adulthood and independence, if approved.