Blackburn home could house ex-cons near schools and surgery

Officials from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have put in the request for the proposed use at a terraced house in Bentham Road, near Meadowhead Infant and Junior schools.

The terraced house, also adjacent to a health centre, would be used to provide accommodation for up to three adults who have just finished a custodial sentence and are at risk of homelessness on release.

Islington House and Bramwell House, both in Blackburn town centre, also serve a similar purpose.

By putting in a Certificate of Lawfulness application for the home, the MoJ is seeking to change the use of the property from a C3 ordinary residence to a C2 ‘residential institution’, without having to go through the full planning and appeals process.

The home is just a stone's throw from a health centre and two schools (Image: Will Morgan)

Typically, this change would require a full planning application, as the use of care facilities can cause disruption for nearby residents and businesses.

However, the applicants argued that the home’s use as a residence would not be changing, despite its change in classification, as the property ‘would be akin to a dwelling’ with each ex-con given the chance to get used to ‘crime-free living’ with the use of a furnished room and additional weekly visits by support officers.

Decisions around who will be housed in the home on Bentham Road will be made by prison and probation staff, rather than the local authority.

Residents at the three-bed house will be housed there for three months at a time, while they are supported in finding permanent accommodation and employment or training.

The application states that its occupants would be subject to a curfew between 11pm and 6am.

It also explains the home ‘will not accommodate those who have a conviction, caution or allegation of any sexual offences mentioned in Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 or those who currently pose a high or very high-risk of harm’.

Using residential properties for these rehabilitative purposes is part of the MoJ’s Probation Accommodation Programme, which provides 84 nights of temporary housing for adults leaving prison without anywhere to go.

“It aims to reduce reoffending by providing furnished accommodation, weekly support, and assistance in securing long-term housing, with 10 per cent of spaces dedicated to women,” the application says.

The supporting statement adds that former prisoners who receive this housing help and find steady employment are nine per cent less likely to reoffend.