UPDATED: the planning application for 112 Grovehall Drive has now been withdrawn.
In a statement, Councillors told South Leeds Life:
“It shouldn’t even need saying that someone on the sex offenders’ register shouldn’t be able to own a children’s’ home.
“We’ve been working to get this stopped, and raising our serious concerns about this application at the highest level in the council while legal advice was being sought, and want to thank all the community who have contacted us and supported the efforts to get this stopped.
“We’ll now be working with Officers and senior Councillors to see what can be done to ensure that we’re not put in a similar situation again.”
Beeston and Holbeck Ward Councillors have come out against a planning application to turn a house on Grovehall Drive into a residential care (children’s) home following the revelation that the owner is a convicted sex offender. Cllr Shaf Ali said:
“Our primary concern is the safety of vulnerable residents in our community and therefore we cannot support this application.”
The property has gained significant attention locally with an initial application to turn the home into a Children’s Home being withdrawn following significant opposition from the community and ward Councillors. Cllr Shaf Ali said:
“While I am pleased people are passionate about safety of vulnerable children and adults in the area, I am disappointed about some of the rumours that have been spread about me in particular. We need to work together and in a kinder way when voicing legitimate concerns.”
All three Beeston and Holbeck Councillors have requested the application be looked at by Plans Panel to ensure that it receives the appropriate attention and scrutiny.
The property at 112 Grovehall Drive is owned by Abid Mahmood Younis, who was convicted of sexual activity with a child in 2015 and jailed for two-and-a-half-years. According to Land Registry records, he bought the house in 2019.
In February 2022 an application to turn the property into an HMO (house in multiple occupation) was refused by Leeds City Council.
The current planning application is for a change of use from a dwelling house to a residential care home. You can read the application in full here. Public comment on the application has closed.
A company called QASA Care Services Limited has said it intends to operate the children’s home and held an open day at the site for local residents. The company, based in Bradford, which has one Director, Omar Farooq, was established in 2022 and appears to have not started trading yet. It’s most recent filed accounts with Companies House state the company was dormant as at 31 Agust 2023.
This issue of child safety is primarily one for Ofsted, not Planning. Planning applications are decided on whether the property is suitable for the use being applied for. The registration of a care home would be carried out by Ofsted and consider all matters of child safety including DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) criminal records checks. No children would be placed in the care home until it was registered.
This post is partially based on a press release issued by Beeston & Holbeck ward councillors
Photo: Jeremy Morton
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No mention of the fact that Mr Ali was fully on board with the application until gb news got involved?