PLANS for a care centre for mothers with drug and alcohol problems in a quiet street have been approved, despite protests.

The proposal to turn a residential house, in Wentworth Gardens, Palmers Green, into a care home has been met with an angry response from residents on the street, who say a quiet cul-de-sac is not the place for this kind of facility.

The plan by the Lilly Hugz community organisation would be the first centre it has set up, housing five mothers and children who are on the verge of being torn apart by the courts because of substance abuse.

In a statement, the director of the company, who refused to be named, said: “This is a place that will support parents who have lost children or are about to lose children to social workers.

“We are not going to take any people who are currently taking drugs or using alcohol.

“These people may have been to court but they need somewhere to go where they can prove to the court that they are able to care for their families and turn the lives around.”

The centre would only house mothers from outside the borough and would be attended by a trained worker at all times, she added.

But young mother Ms Calton, who lives doors away from the house, said that residents on the street did not want recovering drug addicts on a street with young families.

She said: “I'm all for people trying to trying to get their lives back on track but there is a place for it and it's not on a quiet residential street.

“We feel like our feelings have been ignored and mean nothing.”

Lilly Hugz – that is applying to become a charity – has secured a Certificate of Lawfulness from the council to change the property from a house into a care home.

The certificate allows it to change the purpose of the property without having to apply for planning permission because there are no structural changes needed – bypassing the opportunity for concerned residents to object.

Ms Calton added: “I believe that this is a socially unacceptable situation for our local area and it paves the way for further similar charities to push their way in to areas where they are not welcome for understandable reasons.

“It removes the right of fellow residents to enjoy their home and where they live, which is a fundamental right of any property owner.”

The centre is not set to open in the immediate future, but neighbours have little power to object except through a High Court legal challenge.