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A developer has won planning permission to convert a property in Trecenydd into a HMO for up to four people.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee has approved applicant D2 Propco Ltd’s proposal for the conversion of 15 First Avenue, which is currently a three-bedroom home.

HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) are typically properties for single, unrelated adults who have their own bedrooms but share other communal areas such as bathrooms, kitchens or living rooms.

Plans submitted to the council show the existing dining room on the ground floor of the property will be converted into a fourth bedroom.

Parking and bike storage will be located at the side and rear of the property, accessible by a shared driveway.

At a planning committee meeting, on Wednesday February 12, Cllr Greg Ead – who represents the Penyrheol, Trecenydd, and Energlyn ward – told colleagues he has “concerns about a HMO in the area” and about the shared access to the parking area.

Fellow committee member Cllr Kristian Woodland asked how many HMOs are in the surrounding area.

Like many councils, Caerphilly places thresholds on the amount of HMOs which should exist in any one neighbourhood, because it is recognised these properties can place extra pressures on population density and issues such as parking and bin collections.

Case officer Lorna Berrow told the committee the Welsh Government generally calculates a “tipping point” for too many HMOs would be 10% of the total properties in an area.

She said there are three other HMOs in the Penyrheol, Trecenydd, and Energlyn ward, working out at 0.1% of the homes within the area.

A council report also noted smaller HMOs do not need to be registered with a local authority.

“In that respect it is unknown how many HMOs there are in the Caerphilly County Borough area,” the report stated. “To be more specific, only HMOs that are three or more storeys in height and are occupied by five or more persons forming two or more households are required to be licensed.”

The committee voted 14-2 in favour of granting planning permission.