Agenda item

In respect of application numbered S/19/0743 (Change of use of main dwelling to create 9 bed House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO), 74 Bath Road, Old Town, Swindon) the Committee considered: -

          Name                                 Address/Organisation

          Patrick Herring                    Parish Councillor    

Councillors Alan Bishop, Paul Dixon, Nick Martin, Nick Burns-Howell, Stan Pajak, Tim Swinyard, Vera Tomlinson and Peter Watts spoke in respect of this application.

Submissions in support of the application can be broadly summarised as:

·       Following discussions with Council Officers the application had been amended from ten to nine bedrooms.

·       The garage was being retained to provide storage for up to ten bicycles.

·       The application did not, due its location, require the provision of parking and was situated within a sustainable location.

·       The size of rooms set out in the application met the relevant regulations and the lack of facilities within the property would be the subject of other regulations and legislation.

·       There was no evidence that the amenity of neighbours would be adversely affected by the proposed change of use.

Submissions opposing the application can be broadly summarised as:

·       The proposed application did not provide sufficient car parking provision and the tenants would not qualify for residents parking permits.

·       The proposed application did not provide adequate facilities for residents of the House in Multiple Occupation.

·       The development adversely impacted on neighbouring properties.

·       That there were already a saturation of licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation in the vicinity with seven licensed in Bath Road and Lansdown Road.

·       The ward already had the highest proportion of Houses in Multiple Occupation in the Borough.

·       Houses in Multiple Occupation should be built to the highest possible standard which was not the case with the application submitted.

·       Communal space within the building was inadequate for the number of people in the building.

·       The kitchen design and dining room were inadequate with only one oven for nine occupants which was in contravention of the Council’s standards for Houses in Multiple Occupation.

·       The layout of the bathrooms meant that most were unventilated due to the design of the building and its age which could lead to smells, mould and dampness in contravention of the Residential Design Guide paragraph 8.28.

·       The basement bedroom was both unsafe due to its small window and access via the kitchen and would receive inadequate natural light contrary to the Health and Housing Rating System set out in the Housing Act 2004.

·       There were concerns relating to fire safety measures including to the basement flat.

Resolved - That consideration of application numbered S/19/0743 be deferred in order to allow further consultation between the Head of Planning, Regulatory Services and Heritage and the applicant’s agent to review the internal arrangement of the accommodation in the interests of the safety of the future occupants.