A LONG-AWAITED upgrade to a children’s care home in Newport could be given the go ahead by planning chiefs.

Oaklands in St Johns Crescent, Rogerstone, offers short breaks and weekly respite care for children and young people with severe disabilities.

Newport City Council want to demolish the conservatory and build an extension with a sensory room, a new porch, patio and ramps to improve security and disabled access.

The renovations form part of wider plans to address a lack of specialist facilities in Newport, with the authority currently overstretching its budgets by placing local children ‘out of county’.

Newport City Council faces high demand for its social services

Around £500,000 has been secured from the Welsh Government to carry out the work at Oaklands, with the council also purchasing up to three suitable properties within the city to turn them into care homes.

READ MORE: Newport City Council agrees on specialist homes

Speaking last year, council leader Debbie Wilcox said that providing the right level of support to youngsters at an early stage could turn their lives around.

“We will be able to bring children back to Newport from homes that are potentially hundreds of miles away,” added Cllr Wilcox.

Councillor Debbie Wilcox, leader of Newport City Council

“Sometimes youngsters have to be housed outside the city in their own best interests but, wherever possible, it is better than they are looked after in their own city and close to their families.”

In 2018, the respite service at Oaklands was in danger of being cut from seven days to six, which would have saved the council £124,000, though this was not explored further.

READ MORE: Cuts to Oaklands short breaks service for disabled children are scrapped

A report to the council’s planning committee says the extension is modest in scale and will not have any overbearing impact on neighbouring properties.

The committee has been asked by officers to accept the application when they meet on May 1.