Neighbour objections not enough to stop HMO approval

Councillors have approved a HMO conversion bid for Newport’s Ombersley Road despite sharing concerns about the planning rules for such properties.

Members of the city council’s planning committee told officers they felt guidance on regulating the impact of HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) should be toughened.

The application, from Mathieson and Bell Ltd, is to convert 60 Ombersley Road from a six-bedroom house into a HMO for eight people.

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

Planning agents LRJ Planning described the application site in Ombersley Road as a “highly sustainable location” with public transport links.

Converting the home to a HMO would “provide a mix of housing which is required and meet the needs of the community”, they added.

But the proposals drew objections from 29 neighbours, as well as the Allt-yr-Yn ward’s three councillors, according to a council report.

Objectors told the council they had concerns including the impact on the character and appearance of the area, the impact on neighbours, parking pressures and waste management issues.

Ward councillor Pat Drewett, who requested the application be brought before the committee, said he had “great concern at the number of HMOs in this area already”.

Councils often place limits on the number of HMOs for each area, and at the committee meeting, planning officer Adam Foote said the threshold for the neighbourhood around Ombersley Road was 15% in a 50-metre radius.

“One other property currently is a HMO – two properties is well below the 15%,” he told councillors, adding that in planning terms, officers had recommended the application be approved.

Several committee members suggested the council’s own guidance should be tightened to prevent too many HMOs springing up in any one area.

Cllr Trevor Watkins said the council should start treating HMOs generally as commercial buildings “as far as I’m concerned”.

Committee colleague Cllr Jason Jordan agreed, commenting that HMOs tend to pay “one set of council tax”.

Cllr John Reynolds said a HMO owner, generally speaking, “is making a lot of money on renting the rooms out”.

He also said the 50-metre radius guidance for limiting HMOs was “ridiculous”, noting there were five other such properties sitting just outside that area around Ombersley Road.

But Andrew Ferguson, the council’s planning and development manager, said the 15% threshold would still not be breached in this case, even if the radius was extended.

He told the committee the council will examine its general HMO policies as part of the ongoing work on the council’s new Local Development Plan – a blueprint for planning strategy across the city.

The committee voted 6-1, with one abstention, to grant planning permission for 60 Ombersley Road.