A CARE company criticised for putting young people at risk will not be allowed to open a children’s home in a quiet cul-de-sac until September – if at all.

4pureheart wants to convert a four-bedroom detached dormer bungalow in Ainsworth into a residential care home for three children aged seven to 17.

Bury’s planning committee was due to approve an application for a change of use at the property in Brookfield Avenue this week but a decision was delayed.

This comes after concerns were raised about the company’s credentials as a report written in August 2018 by government watchdog Ofsted, which rated a children’s home run in Bolton by 4pureheart as “inadequate”, came to light.

Councillors voted to defer their decision until they visit the site to consider access, traffic and parking concerns before their next meeting in September.

Radcliffe North councillor Sam Hurst told the committee that there would be issues with accessibility in the area if the plans were allowed to go ahead.

John Crawshaw, an objector who also spoke at the virtual meeting on Tuesday, said that this location chosen for this children’s home is “wrong and unsafe”.

He said: “Residents who live and have raised children in the village understand what contributes to their quality of life and fear of crime and what the existing facilities for children are like, not the applicant.”

But planning chief David Marno said policy states that care homes should be located in community settings as a natural environment where people would want to live, rather than being institutionalised “in the middle of nowhere”.

Racliffe North councillor Sharon Briggs, who sits on the planning committee, said a lot of the objections to the application were not relevant to planning law.

She said: “I do know the area well, I’ve lived in the area most of my life. I’ve no concerns about the nature of the proposed dwelling.

“My concern would be about the parking and access. But having looked at the application, relooked at the site, knowing that the application is going to improve parking within the curtilage of the property, I can’t see there being a problem.”

Radcliffe West councillor Tony Cummings, who is also a member of the committee, agreed, saying there was no need for a site visit.

But Radcliffe East councillor James Mason said he would prefer to defer.

He said: “Given what I’ve heard, I would like a site visit now just to get my head around the actual position of the home and the cul-de-sac.”

The vote was split evenly but planning committee chairman Gavin McGill, who cast the deciding vote, chose to defer the decision until a site visit takes place.

The application has been extended until shortly after the next meeting of the planning committee, which will take place on September 1.