PLANS to bring a terraced property on Lovely Lane, Warrington, “back to life” as a 10-bed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) have been refused by Warrington Borough Council planners.
The application involved converting a three-storey double fronted terraced house on Lovely Lane, currently used as a single-family dwelling, into a 10-bed HMO, including demolition of a conservatory and a single-storey extension.
The dwelling house has been extended to the rear and side to provide conservatory accommodation.
The existing dwelling house has been left for some years without the provision of any basic maintenance to the general fabric.
In light of this and in consideration of bringing the property back to life and providing multiple residential accommodation, it has been proposed to fully refurbish and upgrade the existing building.
The application proposed a single-storey extension to the rear of the existing dwelling is planned to provide additional living areas.
Appropriate refuse storage facilities would be provided within the dwellings, with suitable access to disposal facilities. Refuse containers would be located away from habitable rooms.
The proposed scheme will exist as a single household with 10 occupants sharing facilities.
The applicant said they had met the minimum required housing standards. The provision of an absolute maximum of 10 occupants was not considered to have a significantly detrimental local parking effect.
The bicycle storage included in the scheme would provide space for 10 bicycles.
But town planners said the proposed development, due to its proposed internal layout, would not provide acceptable levels of natural light or outlook to Bedroom 4. The impacts of the proposals on the amenity of future occupants would therefore be unacceptable.
The proposal would also not improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area, nor does it comply with the development plan and therefore does not comprise sustainable development. There were no conditions which could reasonably have been imposed which could have made the development acceptable and it was therefore not possible to approve the application.
It was also important to state the decision related solely to the planning legislation, and does not grant authority under the Building Regulations, nor any other legislation that might be required.
