View Full Version : New 5 bedroom Children's Home, Wick
What ever next? However, times move on and the old one is dated
Dog-eared
12-Mar-11, 00:11
There seems to be a need for one and if the new one is better, what's the problem ?
Why not convert an existing building - like the old Library?
Much more environmentally sound
if the library is to costly to run it will not be any cheaper to run as a children home i argree we need children homes to protect them and give a helping hand at times of need but what will be come of the will it hold asylm seekers like the ones in england
whats wrong with the current one? walk past it every day and it looks well kept?
macbreeza
12-Mar-11, 10:25
I can't imagine what it must be like for a child to be in a children's home, sorry if I am missing the point but aren't the children the most important factor here? If the home has been deemed under standard etc then I have no argument with that. It has been there for as long as I can remember and I am 34 so it's not exactly new. Also the bedrooms all appear to be upstairs maybe the building is also not up to scratch from a disabled point of view also I am sure it's not the reason that it's "dated" and more it's not providing everything it should be.
If there building a childrens home is a 5 bedrooms to small would they not be better to design a home that could have more bedrooms in it because you can never really know how much demand there will be for another kid to be put in a childrens home nows the the time to plan the build to cope with demand
£1M+ to build a 5 bed house seems just a little pricey
It seems very pricey, how old is the Wick childrens home, I remember the Thurso home and the kids having to move to Wick from Thurso. I didn't think it was that old. Can it not be refurbished?
Bobinovich
12-Mar-11, 12:38
Absolutely! £1.2m for a 5-bed home does seem way OTT - would that not make 6 x £200k 5-bedroom family homes!!!
I thought we were putting up with cutbacks due to a lack of money? Where has this £1.2M suddenly popped up from? Totally overpriced for a 5-bedroom home and why is it not a good idea to refurbish the old one?
It may not be a simple five bedroomed house, might it need staff bedrooms? Also an office space? Maybe two living rooms? There will be loads of regulations I would think. Fire doors and each bedroom to have it's own bathroom maybe so the child has privacy. There may need to be a sprinkler system and special alarms.
This won't be as simple as just building a five bedroomed family house. I am sure of that.
Alice in Blunderland
12-Mar-11, 14:46
I have to admit I am also somewhat puzzled by the price. I have a five bedroom, five bathrooms, two living rooms, and one office house, plus other rooms. I certainly did not spend anything near the £1.2 million that is being quoted. Sometimes the council just don't seem to get value for money. Will this house last longer than the previous children's home did ?
Alice in Blunderland
12-Mar-11, 14:48
In fact if the council are interested I would be happy to offer my house at a knock down price to them saving the taxpayer a fortune ;) Its in the country but that could be a bonus peace and quiet and no distractions for the kids :D
It may not be a simple five bedroomed house, might it need staff bedrooms? Also an office space? Maybe two living rooms? There will be loads of regulations I would think. Fire doors and each bedroom to have it's own bathroom maybe so the child has privacy. There may need to be a sprinkler system and special alarms.
This won't be as simple as just building a five bedroomed family house. I am sure of that.
Spot on Squidge. Someone who is using their brains.
In fact if the council are interested I would be happy to offer my house at a knock down price to them saving the taxpayer a fortune ;) Its in the country but that could be a bonus peace and quiet and no distractions for the kids :D
Well said Alice, I guess you would be too young to remember the Childrens' Home in Lybster, one owld wife in charge and someone in to help make the beds and tidy up and all the bairns well cared for never mind the en-suites.. It was a two storey house on the way down to the Harbour and no nonsense. Yes, I am all for a homely atmosphere for the children but how can that happen when they have more staff than bairns????????? Cut backs, what a joke.
Well said Alice, I guess you would be too young to remember the Childrens' Home in Lybster, one owld wife in charge and someone in to help make the beds and tidy up and all the bairns well cared for never mind the en-suites.. It was a two storey house on the way down to the Harbour and no nonsense. Yes, I am all for a homely atmosphere for the children but how can that happen when they have more staff than bairns????????? Cut backs, what a joke.
That must have been when the Bairns were on chimmey sweeping duty. This is the 21st Century there are Laws and Regulations of our fair Land to follow. You should read them when you get a moment.
Is the 1 million just for the building?
Or does it include the furnishings as well as fittings?
ie everything needed to kit the place out for the bairns to just walk in and have a bedroom, livingroom, kitchen etc like any other child, with toys, sofas and crockery etc.
If the 1million is just for the build, it seems a bit on the steep side, but if the costing contains everything needed it would be realistic.
Is the 1 million just for the building?
Or does it include the furnishings as well as fittings?
ie everything needed to kit the place out for the bairns to just walk in and have a bedroom, livingroom, kitchen etc like any other child, with toys, sofas and crockery etc.
If the 1million is just for the build, it seems a bit on the steep side, but if the costing contains everything needed it would be realistic.
It will be for everything including all the building warrants the planning fees as well as architect and engineers
Remember a five bed children’s home is not comparable to a 5 bed domestic home in any shape or form. For a start is has to comply with the care commission, building standards, health and safety and hygiene regs for kitchens fire and rescue requirements ect.
To compare a house with a children’s residential home is completely ludicrous as its does not have to meet a fraction of those regs
As usual the know it all society has all the smart answers without actually finding out the facts.
That is what is wrong with this country, all the rules and regulations. No the bairns were not on Chimney Sweeping duties but surely a bairn needs love and kindness not a posh en-suite bedroom. A caring and kindly housemother and maybe a father who pursues his own course of employment with a maid or two to do the cleaning and laborious household tasks is surely the way forward. Why cannot the Northcote Street facility not be updated to accommodate in this day and age of relentless cut backs? All bairns require a bit of attention and caring and I feel sure they are not bothered about en-suite facilities but maybe I am living in the days of Chimney Sweeping duties and I don't think.
I can't imagine what it must be like for a child to be in a children's home, sorry if I am missing the point but aren't the children the most important factor here? If the home has been deemed under standard etc then I have no argument with that. It has been there for as long as I can remember and I am 34 so it's not exactly new. Also the bedrooms all appear to be upstairs maybe the building is also not up to scratch from a disabled point of view also I am sure it's not the reason that it's "dated" and more it's not providing everything it should be.
What do you mean the biulding not up to scratch. What about military housing, homes for the elderly,council housing, need I go on.
I think I read in the paper today something about it costing £1.5 million to biuld. Give me the money Ill biuld the exact same thing, and a villa in the south of france and still have change.
It will be for everything including all the building warrants the planning fees as well as architect and engineers
Remember a five bed children’s home is not comparable to a 5 bed domestic home in any shape or form. For a start is has to comply with the care commission, building standards, health and safety and hygiene regs for kitchens fire and rescue requirements ect.
To compare a house with a children’s residential home is completely ludicrous as its does not have to meet a fraction of those regs
As usual the know it all society has all the smart answers without actually finding out the facts.
Been there biult them, plus home for the elderly, restaurants, cost is extortionate, but when it,s not there own money why should they care.
That must have been when the Bairns were on chimmey sweeping duty. This is the 21st Century there are Laws and Regulations of our fair Land to follow. You should read them when you get a moment.
AS far as I can remember the Children in the house above Lybster Harbour ( Seaview House) it was called I think, were very well cared for. Don't know why the 'Chimney Sweeping Duty'. I think your comment is rather unfortunate, as it shows you know nothing about the conditions they lived in.
They were part of the society that was in Caithness at the time/ they integrated well and we never thought anything about them, other than they were children like ourselves.
In addition it was the 'ould wifie' that gave them the love not the house..... Again, as far as I can remember she was well respected and the children were well behaved, likely more than we were at that period of time. To me it is sad the comments used on here to describe something they obviously know nothing about! They lived there due to unfortunate circumstances, they went to School with us, and they were just part of the environment of the Village.
I agree with Squidge, I think having your own room and en suite is a really important part of making a vulnerable child feel more secure. Surely the days of children sleeping in dorms and using communal wash areas, belong well in the past. They have enough to contend with, without worrying about sharing a room with someone they don't get on with or who is a bully. Whether it's a long or short stay, stability must be the key.
If a new children's home, that does not look and feel like an institution and can provide a safe and happy environment, gives some of our most disaffected youngsters a better start in life, I think the £1.2 million will be well worth it.
porshiepoo
15-Mar-11, 11:29
5 bedrooms - that seems a tad small to me. Or is it 5 bedrooms that will house a number of kids in each?
En suite facilities IMO do not make a child feel safe or secure and in fact could be detrimental if those facilities are not then available when the child is fostered or adopted, plus IMO it just encourages a child to isolate themselves more when they would maybe benefit from interaction.
I also fail to believe that there is not a property in the area that would be suitable for refurbishing without the need or expense of building from scratch.
I understand vulnerable children need a place of safety but I don't think that mod cons, new house, en suite etc etc automatically conveys that to a vulnerable child. Those facilities will not make a child feel safe, no internal trappings can do that, only counselling, love, understanding and more importantly normal human interaction can do that.
Seems to me that more emphasis is being made to material provision than physical/mental understanding. Seems as though isolation is going to be encouraged rather than interaction and support.
Well said porshiepoo
The current building used as the Childrens Home in Wick is only about 40 years old.
Can remember when I noticed the folk who run the home had to add restricters to windows, both upper and lower windows to stop the youngsters escaping so easily!!!!
Well said porshiepoo
The current building used as the Childrens Home in Wick is only about 40 years old.
Can remember when I noticed the folk who run the home had to add restricters to windows, both upper and lower windows to stop the youngsters escaping so easily!!!!
The teenagers used to escape, albeit more staff than bairns, they went to Thurso on a Saturday night and the bobbies would take them back.No taxi fares incurred . The caring ould wifie at Seaview, Lybster would have given them a good clout for stepping out of line and a good talking too, the same as any normal parent nowadays the kids would phone the Child Helpline, even five year olds, know about that "You cannot skelp me or I will phone..." The teenagers stand outside the Home at the top of Northcote Street smoking, where are all the staff? Some children are there because the parent is ill so do tell me how a child will react going back to their normal home with no en-suite facilities???????Not everyone can afford these luxuries for their child.
I hope this news is true about a new home but the way things are I don't believe anything until it happens. The home at the top o Northcote St stinks of cabbage and pine wood and is rotten.
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