Devon County Council are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) on a proposal to build a new secure children’s home at an out-of-town location in South Devon.
No decision has been made yet, but if the scheme were to progress, it would replace the current Atkinson secure children’s home in Exeter.
The Atkinson home is national resource that supports vulnerable children including those at risk of suffering significant harm.
However the current home is reaching the end of its useful life and is no longer suitable for meeting the diverse therapeutic needs of the vulnerable young people placed there.
The new proposal would allow the provision to expand to meet the needs of more vulnerable young people in Devon and nationally.
We are working with specialist surveyors to decide whether the proposed site is feasible for the new-build.
If the site is deemed feasible, a full planning application would follow and the public would have opportunity to have their say about the application as part of that planning process.
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