THE FORMER site of a Hyde school is to be turned into a new respite care facility for children.
Land on which Flowery Field Primary, off Old Road, once stood will now see a nine-bedroomed centre created to replace the Boyds Walk Children’s Unit in Dukinfield.
Plans, tabled by Tameside Council, include administrative support, sensory facilities, independent living modules, and play areas.
This comes almost two years after town hall bosses signed off on a £3.2 million care home for disabled children.
The council made the move after a watchdog found the Boyds Walk home posed safety risks to its vulnerable residents.
That had been used to look after vulnerable young people aged between 11 and 17-years-old since 1983.
However, a report from the executive cabinet meeting in November 2022 found the layout of the building presented health and safety risks to the children and staff within it because of narrow hallways and corridors.
At the time, examples of children with disabilities who needed two carers being unable to access the service due to the ‘ineffective’ functioning of the property and its inability to cater for intensive staff numbers.
This led to children having to go into costly out-of-borough placements with private companies.
In the plan for the replacement unit, four of the nine resident bedrooms are designed for long-term stays with the other five for short-term/respite stays, planning documents explain.
All bedroom units are to contain tough furniture, a wall mounted TV, a single bed wardrobe, and bedside table on wheels.
There will also be two kitchen/living areas, two sensory rooms as well as two staff offices and two staff bedrooms.
Planning papers read: “The scheme is to be domestic and homely to make comfortable and pleasant spaces for all residents. The building is to be single storey and set back from the main street.
“Car parking facilities will be created on the northern site edge by use of the school access road. The main entrances aim to be homely and welcoming with car parking limited in exposure to the main residents with accommodation facing onto other façades where possible.
“Accessible spaces will be located as close to the main entrances as possible.”
The car parking area that would provide 13 spaces, including three disabled parking spaces.
And in a decision notice approving the scheme, Tameside Council said: “Although little trace of the old school buildings remain, areas of hard-standing and remnants of previous structures linger and the site can be considered as constituting previously developed, or brownfield, land.
“The proposal would not impact on the functioning of the land as it does at the moment within the wider area of protected green space, and so there is no conflict with policy.
“The proposed development would introduce a different type of residential use in to an established residential area it is considered acceptable.
“The proposal would make a positive contribution to meeting the demand for respite care for children and young people.”