A Victorian house in an affluent area of Mansfield will be turned into a residential property for young adults with autism and learning difficulties. Mansfield District Council’s planning committee unanimously approved an application from Godfrey Care to revamp the five-bed home at 15 Crow Hill Drive, which sits half a kilometre north of the town centre. Six people, likely to be aged between 18 and 25, will move into the property and will be supported by at least seven staff members, including a registered manager during the day. The residents will have a “high need” of care, planning officer Dan Galpin said, likely on a one-to-one basis, with “relatively limited” independence. Each would have “quite a large area” to themselves, including their own bedroom, living area and sensory room, totalling a size similar to a two-bedroom flat, which would be designed specifically around each residents’ sensory needs. The house will also contain communal kitchens and lounge areas, and work will take place to expand the single-storey rear extension at the back of the property and to convert the garage. The “large plot”, as Mr Galpin described it, is a “generous amount of space”, with the garage itself the size of a standard residential bungalow. It sits in the Crow Hill Conservation Area and is a non-designated heritage asset, meaning the council has noted its historical significance and archaeological or architectural interest. There is also a large garden at the back of the property, sheltered by a number of trees, with more due to be planted in order to meet 10% net biodiversity gain obligations due to the size of the site. Godfrey Care director Andrew Barnes spoke at the meeting, telling members that the adults living at the property would not have a criminal background. He explained that Godfrey Care runs around 12 very similar residential properties in the region, including one that opened in Beeston in 2025 and has been “very successful” as well as sites in Burton and Chesterfield. He said that some residents may need more than one-to-one care, such as two staff present at any one time, but that some might need less, such as a staff member present for only a few hours per day. He also explained that part of the company’s objective was to lower residents’ level of care with a view to them eventually moving to living near-independently in supported living accommodation. He admitted that local neighbours had not yet been consulted or made aware of the plans, but that they would be in the lead-up to the opening of the home. But councillors were told that this should not impact their decision on whether to approve the application. He added: “We think this is a fantastic property. It’s got lots of garden space. It’s in a really nice area close to Mansfield centre. It’d be a lovely place for the individuals we support to call home. It’s very spacious, everybody has their own areas.” There were five objections by members of the public to the application, relating to an increase in traffic from staff and visitors, a lack of parking and insufficient information provided in relation to staffing arrangements and security measures. Others suggested the plan was an “overdevelopment” of the site beyond what would be expected for a single-family home, that there was an overconcentration of similar homes in the vicinity, and raised concerns about increased noise and disturbance. Levels of crime such as burglary and bike theft in the local area were also raised as a concern, relating to residents’ exposure to those potential crimes. Nottinghamshire County Council ’s Highways team, which deals with roads, said that a potential increase in street parking as a result of the number of staff visiting the property would not be considered a safety risk. Commenting at the meeting, Labour councillor John Coxhead said: “My concern has always been that (young people like the ones who would live in the property) are not ready at 18 to go out into the world of work and the wilderness of streets and towns and everything else. “And knowing now that we’ve got something like this coming is quite exciting and I will be fully supporting this.” Labour councillor Angie Jackson added: “I think this is a really exciting. In my previous career, I worked in the NHS and managed a unit for learning difficulty and additional needs. “There was a massive lack of provision for them when they were coming out of hospital. So it’s really reassuring to know that places like this are popping up in residential areas and with close access to town. “I think we should all be really excited about this and it would be really nice if an invitation to visit could be extended at some point.” And Labour councillor Jack Stevenson said: “The property looks amazing for the type of youngsters they’re going to have in there. I can’t see any drawback from it really. It’s great.” Previously, an application to turn the property and the land into twelve new flats was refused in 2004 and last year, an application to turn the house into two apartments and build a new dwelling behind it was also rejected.