The house is a former nursing home

Ashbourne Health Care Ltd was refused permission to build a conservatory and a 10ft security fence at Gainsborough House in Abergele in April because of overwhelming local objection.

But Conwy Council's approval of the latest application, which only included the conservatory, could be seen as the first step towards realising the plans.

Parents have voiced concern that the safety of their children would be put at risk if the plans are approved.

Ashbourne's biggest hurdle now will be to secure planning permission for the security fence, which was planned to surround the 40-bed low-risk unit, to allow them to go ahead with their proposal.

The application for the fence has gone to an appeal, and will be decided by the Welsh assembly's planning inspectorate

Over 200 people protested outside Conwy Council's offices when the planning committee discussed the original application for a conservatory and fence in April.

But no letters of objection were received for the latest application which only included the conservatory.

It was due to be discussed by the council next week but has been passed through delegated authority because there had been no objections.

Risk claims

The council's planning committee voted by 28 to nil not to allow a 10ft-high security fence and a conservatory to be built on the site in April.

People are scared that people with mental health problems are going to be violent or dangerous - that is a misconception Claire Williams, Mind Cymru

Parents living close to site of the proposed unit had claimed that the safety of their children would be placed at risk if plans for the unit were approved.

Concerns were raised during a public meeting in January, in which Ashbourne Health Care's chief executive was questioned for two hours.

People whose homes border the site were not convinced by reassurances that patients would pose no risk to the community.

Stigma

Claire Williams, from mental health charity Mind Cymru, said at the time that parental concerns were a common reaction to any proposals for psychiatric care units close to communities.

"People say they fear for their children and don't want to have the facilities near schools and housing," she said.

"Sadly this is because there is a huge amount of stigma associated with mental health in society.

"People are scared that people with mental health problems are going to be violent or dangerous - that is a misconception," she added.

Ms Williams also said that the low-risk units were often placed in community areas for operational reasons.

"People do recover from mental health problems, and a lot of low-security facilities are used for a transitionary period and need to be located near to social services and community services," she added.