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Residents who are “frightened” to move their cars in case they lose a coveted parking space have failed to stop plans for a proposed HMO conversion in their street.

Caerphilly Council’s planning committee heard how people living on Aberbargoed’s Chapel Street struggle to park outside their homes, and feared allowing more people to live at a property would lead to those problems worsening.

One resident, Stephen Fox, told the committee there were regular issues with “the amount of traffic using Chapel Street when they are dropping children off and picking them up” from a nearby primary school.

And services at a local chapel of rest have added to parking pressures, he said, adding: “We are frightened to move out of the street because you can’t actually get back into the street when there’s a funeral taking place.”

“Many complaints have gone in – nothing is ever done,” he said of the local parking problems.

Mr Fox was speaking in opposition to the proposed conversion of 10 Chapel Street, from a three-bedroom home into a HMO (house in multiple occupation) for four people.

But Paul Parsons, the agent for applicant Vidya Giri, argued “issues to do with the school, or issues to do with the chapel, are nothing to do with this application”.

He said the proposed HMO “will be managed by a not-for-profit housing association… which will manage the tenants”.

“The tenants are very unlikely to own a car, so the whole issue to do with parking should not be an issue,” he contended.

Senior planning officer Carwyn Powell said the change from three to four bedrooms would result in “no change in car parking requirements”.

“I appreciate the concerns of the residents in terms of indiscriminate parking,” he said. “We have to look at the numbers in terms of what is required. The numbers are the same, therefore it’s difficult to justify a refusal on that basis.”

HMOs are typically properties for single, unrelated adults who have their own bedrooms but share other communal areas, such as kitchens or bathrooms.

A council report shows the application attracted 26 letters of objection during a recent consultation period.

Other issues flagged included fears around antisocial behaviour, the HMO being overcrowded, a frequent turnover of people living there, and the loss of a family home.

Cllr Mansell Powell told committee colleagues the matter felt like “deja vu” and contained “similar questions to what we get with every other planning application for a HMO”.

“These are popping up all over the ward,” he said. “They are popping up everywhere. Unfortunately from a planning point of view, there is very little we can do.”

Other committee members shared similar thoughts about the upsides and downsides of HMOs.

Cllr Nigel Dix said such properties “can be problematic”.

“Neighbours don’t like them, communities don’t like them,” he said. “The companies who buy these properties are taking away family houses.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Shane Williams said he was “concerned about turning a three bedroom house into a four bedroom house”.

“Some properties might be able to absorb that number of people a lot easier than other properties,” he said.

Mr Parsons said he “couldn’t find another HMO in the area” and explained a housing association “can pick and choose the correct tenants to go into the property”.

The committee voted to approve the conversion, subject to conditions.