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A Newport resident has raised concerns about having “wronguns” for neighbours if a mid-terraced house is converted into a four-bed HMO.
The claim was made during a consultation on plans to redevelop the four-bedroom property at 35 Liscombe Street, in the Lliswerry ward.
HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) are typically properties where individual, unrelated adults have their own private bedrooms but share other communal areas, such as kitchens or bathrooms.
According to a council report, 25 neighbours lodged objections to the Liscombe Street proposal on a range of topics, including parking pressures and fears of bad behaviour.
Ward councillor Andrew Sterry also raised concerns and asked for the matter to be referred to Newport City Council’s planning committee.
At a meeting this week, however, senior planning officer Joanne Davidson told members their decision should only consider land use planning matters.
“The personal details of occupants themselves is not a planning matter,” she said. “Neither is the reputation, the background [or] the business of the landlord or owner.”
While the impact of a development on neighbours’ amenity or properties can include “matters of social cohesions and fears of crime”, those fears must be “objectively justified” and have some “reasonable basis” linked to the proposed works, Ms Davidson explained.
In a planning report, a list of neighbour objections included one who said “the thought of wronguns” living nearby “completely unsettles me”.
Another said the local crime rate “is high as it is, and I feel this would just add to that”.
Ms Davidson told the committee that “assumptions… cannot be afforded significant weight in our decision making”.
“This has all been tested in the courts,” she warned.
Neighbour concerns also focused on parking pressures, with one objector describing the current situation as an “absolute nightmare”.
Ms Davidson said the HMO conversion would mean an increase in parking demand, but said the site was “sustainable” and close to public transport, among other services.
In a planning statement, LRJ Planning, the agents for applicant Grainger Jones, said the proposed HMO conversion “would contribute to the diversification of housing stock, addressing identified local housing needs and supporting the broader objectives of community inclusivity and housing accessibility”.
During the meeting, two committee members, Cllrs Bev Perkins and Gavin Horton, raised concerns about one bedroom size – which the meeting heard was 0.01 square metres larger than the council’s minimum standards.
“I’m not suggesting for one moment that the rooms are large, because they’re clearly not,” said Ms Davidson.
Cllr Will Routley suggested the bedroom in question was “too small” and wouldn’t “serve the needs” of residents.
Cllr Horton added he was “not happy with conflicting information” about bedroom sizes.
Tracy Brookes, the council’s head of regeneration, said officers had inspected the property and “believe the dimensions to be accurate” within the submitted plans.
By majority vote, the committee decided to defer a decision on the application so officers could visit the property and measure the bedrooms.
If the rooms match the measurements given in the plans, officers will have the delegated powers to decide whether planning permission is granted.
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