Council buys two Nottinghamshire houses to turn into children's homes and avoid 'rapidly rising costs'

The two properties will be based in residential areas

Nottinghamshire County Council has purchased two houses to turn into children's homes as the authority tries to reduce exposure to "rapidly rising costs" The Conservative-led council says it has been trying to improve the sufficiency of its children's care places for a number of years.

The council approved the establishment of the first two of six planned children's homes in 2020. The authority says one of the reasons for expanding its own suite of facilities was to "reduce its exposure to the market for children's care which is characterised by rapidly rising costs and insufficient supply."

The six children's homes will all be two-bed facilities and the council has just announced the purchase of two more residential properties. One of the facilities will be based in Mansfield and the other in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, though the exact locations have not yet been confirmed.

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Describing both facilities, the county council says: "It has a suitable layout to function as a children's home and a large garden. It has the capacity for the parking of at least four cars.

"The property will be adapted and managed by a third party." No concerns have been raised by either Nottinghamshire Police or the county's highways team about the properties, which the council says will be "essential" as it now seeks planning permission to change the use of both sites.