Children’s care home plan for former guest house

Bruce Sinclair – Local Democracy Reporter

An application to convert a roadside guest house to a children’s care home has been submitted to Pembrokeshire planners.

Ruth Stone of children’s charity Action for Children is seeking a change of use of the Cross Villa guesthouse, Templeton to a children’s home.

The application for the site at the A478 Boars Head pub/C3065 junction, made through agent Sanderson Weatherall, would see a reduction in the number of rooms, from seven to six.

The plans, which include the creation of new link between the main house and annex and associated works, would see five full-time workers employed on-site.

Scheme

Action for Children lists its history on its website: “In 1869, the Reverend Dr Thomas Bowman Stephenson saw some children living rough under the arches of Waterloo Station.

“Instead of walking by, he stopped to listen to their stories. Then he worked out the most practical way to help.

“Dr Stephenson was a Methodist minister from the Northeast of England. He was also passionate about social justice. So, when he moved to London, he challenged the Methodist Church to take action to help children living on the streets.

“His work led to the creation of the National Children’s Home (NCH). In 1994 we became NCH Action for Children. We’ve been Action for Children since 2008.”

The scheme will be considered by county planners at a later date.