Burgh Castle mental health safe house to open next year

Great Yarmouth Borough Council has approved Norfolk and Waveney Mind's plans to convert the Old Farmhouse, a Grade II listed building on Lords Lane in Burgh Castle, into a Short Stay Recovery House.

The successful bid follows a previous application for a similar facility in Belton which was withdrawn by the charity after objections from more than 30 neighbours.

The latest proposal received only one objection - from Burgh Castle Parish Council - and planners said it would provide "a needed form of accommodation within the borough".

The location of a new mental health safe house off Lords Lane in Burgh Castle. (Image: Google Maps)

The safe house will open early next year with a maximum of four people at one time staying for up to five nights.

Norfolk and Waveney Mind have recently also gained approval for another SSRH near Downham Market in west Norfolk.

The two houses follow a successful pilot scheme called Holly Tree House in Costessey in Norwich.

Since the facility opened three years ago, it has helped people with their recovery while also reducing the burden on GP surgeries and A&E departments.

This has saved the NHS more than £1.1m that would have been spent on mental health beds.

Pete Boczko, chief executive of Norfolk and Waveney Mind, said: “We are delighted that our plans for a Short Stay Recovery House in east Norfolk have been approved by Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

"It will make such a difference to people in the area with poor mental health, as well as massively easing the burden on the NHS.

“People who have stayed at Holly Tree House have said it saved their lives and helped them find a new way forward."

Mr Boczko said the UK is experiencing a mental health crisis and the kind of intervention Mind can offer at their recovery houses is "a vital part of the solution".