A children's home could be set up in Runcorn if plans to convert a house are given the go ahead. 

An application has been submitted by not-for-profit Community Interest Company Juno to change the use of a property on Summer Lane into an Ofsted registered home for children aged between eight and 17.

If given the go ahead it would provide accommodation for up to three children, along with staff who would be on shift 24-hours-a-day.  There would be no structural changes to the property.

Supported by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Wirral Council and a network of what it said are 'socially-minded grant funders and investors', Juno's first two homes opened in The Wirral in 2023 and 2024, with another due to open there in 2025, with eight homes planned over the next five years. The application said the company had been working with Halton Council’s children’s services department which it said was 'satisfied' with the location of the planned new property.

Documents submitted in support said the new home would enable a ‘stable family setting close to good educational and community-based opportunities’.

The documents said the number of staff in the home at any given time would not normally exceed three, one of which would be the manager who generally works between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

It said: “We anticipate that the routines for the children living in the home will be varied and mirror the rhythm of a typical family. They are required by law to attend education.

"Outside of education, our children will be encouraged and supported at every opportunity to take part in home-based or external community-based activities tailored to the child’s individual needs, talents and aspirations."

The application said the company 'recignise the importance of feeling part of the community' and ensuring it fits in alongside neighbours, with particular attention to parking – which it said could often be  a source of contention.

With this in mind, it said the plan was to configure the existing driveway to accommodate two or three off street parking spaces.

It added: "We will ensure our staff are conscious of being good neighbours and they know not to park outside anyone’s home, even if it means they park some distance away from the home – it is about being courteous and considerate, which we wholeheartedly encourage and endorse."