Agenda item

Use as a 7 bedroom house in multiple occupation [Hull Road Ward] [Site Visit]

Members considered a full application by Mrs Fereshteh Hurst  for use as a 7 bedroom house in multiple occupation.

Darren Hartshorn, a local resident, spoke to express his concerns around the number of HMO properties in the area and issues that this led to such as anti-social behaviour, rubbish left in the street and car parking.

Councillor Neil Barnes, Ward Member, reminded Members that the previous application for this property to be used a 6 bedroom HMO had been turned down by the Committee. He stated that there were questions surrounding the current status of the house and that it had been used illegally as a 7 bedroom HMO in the past. He urged Members to refuse this application given the intensity of HMO use in this area.

In response to Members questions, Officers stated that:

·        If the application was refused the property would be in use class C4, a small HMO;

·        No part of the Planning Act would allow Members to return this property to C3 use;

·        The use was lawful as the property was operating as a HMO prior to the Article 4 directive;

·        The annex was also in lawful use as part of a small HMO;

·        There had previously been a prohibition notice on one of the bedrooms as the floor space did not comply with regulations, however a wall had since been moved to create more floor space and the notice had been lifted; and

·        If the annex was let separately to the HMO then enforcement action could be taken, if expedient.

During the debate Members raised some of the following points:

·        At least 21% of this street and 47%of the wider area were currently in use as HMO’s and it was likely that the true figures were far higher;

·        This intensification of use was having a detrimental impact on the area and on the amenity of neighbouring properties that were still family homes;

·        It was felt that, although this application would only increase occupancy by one person, that the cumulative impact needed to be considered.

Resolved:  That the application be refused.

Reason:     The Council's records indicated that at street level within 100m of the application site there were currently 10 known Houses in Multiple Occupation out of 47 properties, 21%. At the neighbourhood level there were currently 489 known HMOs out of 1035 properties, 47%. In the context of the existing high concentration of Houses in Multiple Occupation in the area it was considered that the intensification of the occupation of the application property would result in significant harm to the living conditions of nearby residents and the residential character and environmental qualities of the area by reason of cumulatively increased noise and disturbance and car parking pressures. It was also considered that granting planning permission for the proposed change of use would set a precedent for the approval of similar applications in the vicinity of the application site further eroding the environmental qualities and character of the area.

                  The proposal was therefore considered contrary to paragraph 7 of the NPPF, which requires the planning system to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities and Paragraph 17 which advises that planning should always seek to secure a good standard of amenity for all existing and future occupants of land and buildings.