Sunderland Grace House 'short breaks' replacement centre at Red Gables faces opening delay until 2026

Together for Children (TfC), which delivers children’s services on behalf of Sunderland City Council, was recently involved in a planning application for a new centre at Red Gables, a five-bedroom detached property in East Rainton.

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families are expected to benefit from the facility, with the total cost of purchase and conversion estimated at £1.7million.

As a centre for daytime outreach, group activities and short breaks, TfC said the building had large grounds with space for play and development, and could offer therapy and overnight care, as well as hosting events.

Plans for the care facility followed the controversial loss of respite care services at Grace House, which ended in November, 2023, against a backdrop of campaigning by the families affected.

Proposals for Red Gables were officially submitted in December, 2023 but have faced issues since, including more than 80 objections in an initial public consultation, physical amendments and a “legal technicality” which saw the plans withdrawn earlier this year.

Plans for the care facility were resubmitted in August, 2024, and have already sparked public comments during a fresh council consultation which, at the time of writing, stood at 36 objections and nine comments in support.

At a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Children, Education and Skills Scrutiny Committee this month (September 5), key figures behind the project gave an update on its progress.

Councillors heard that families affected by the loss of services at Grace House had received alternative care arrangements, with 13 children with the “greatest need” accessing services at a short break care centre in Redcar.

It was noted that other children were accessing “appropriate care” services in Middlesbrough, as well as some children transitioning to adult social care services and other children benefiting from “personal assistant support”, increases in personal budgets, outreach support and “fostering short breaks”.

It was also said that the short breaks centre application for Red Gables in Sunderland would go before the city council’s Planning and Highways Committee on October 7, 2024.

Project bosses previously hoped the Red Gables centre would open in Autumn, 2024.

However, a presentation to councillors said that even if planning permission is agreed next month, it could still take “up to 18 months for the home to open”, which suggests a potential opening date of spring 2026.

This was due to what the presentation described as “necessary legal activity including registering the home with Ofsted, essential renovation work and the recruitment of staff”.

Children’s services bosses said that all of these factors can “only commence when [planning] approval is granted”.

Jill Colbert, chief executive of Together for Children and director of children’s services in Sunderland, said the 18-month estimate was a “worst-case scenario”.

Councillors were told there were “no children without a full package of support” and a “reduced number of children and families wishing to have overnight residential support”, due to the “other flexible models of support” available.

The children’s services boss added: “There will be a further update available for scrutiny committee members when we have secured an outcome from the planning committee meeting, but in the meantime, we can continue to be committed to the range of alternative provisions that are in place.

“We can confirm that we have no statutory complaints from parents about that”.

When the short breaks facility plan was initially withdrawn, Sunderland City Council said this was due to a “legal technicality”.

A statement published on Together for Children’s website added the withdrawal was due to a “legal land-related issue which was unfortunately out of our control” and that the resubmitted plans were “almost identical to the previous”.

Subject to planning permission being approved, children’s services bosses said they were “ready to go” with the project’s next steps, including building works, recruitment and then Ofsted registration.

A planning statement previously submitted to council officials said the Red Gables project would “meet an identified need for safe and accessible short-term accommodation for children and young people with specific housing, health and social requirements, as well as providing support to their families”.

TfC, in a previous statement, added the new facility aimed to provide a “safe space for day, evening, overnight or weekend activities […] for the young people accessing the provision”.

This included making the home fully accessible for wheelchair users and adding new fencing around the garden, along with internal alterations to suit the needs of users such as accessible bathrooms.

The plans are due to be discussed by Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee on October 7, 2024.

An agenda for the meeting will be published nearer the time and planning meetings normally take place at City Hall and are open to the public.