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A developer is seeking retrospective planning permission for his conversion of a Newport home into a HMO for up to seven people.

Applicant Richard Elmes started work on the conversion of 3 Baldwin Street, in the city’s Pill neighbourhood, in February 2025 – when the property was granted a HMO licence.

HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) are typically properties for single, unrelated adults who have their own private bedrooms but share other communal areas.

Plans for the Baldwin Street property show the conversion involved turning a ground-floor living room into an extra bedroom.

A supporting statement describes the redevelopment as “a sustainable reuse of existing housing stock” in a “highly sustainable urban area”.

Pill ward councillor Debbie Jenkins has objected to the application.

She claimed a HMO would have a “detrimental effect” on a “predominantly family street”, and raised concerns about increased waste management issues and “severe” parking problems.

“Pill already has an over-concentration of approximately 53 HMOs,” added Cllr Jenkins. “Approving further HMO accommodation would intensify this imbalance and negatively affect community cohesion.”

The agents for the applicant have offered a different view on the issue of overconcentration, arguing there are no other licensed HMOs in Baldwin Street and just two others within a 50-metre radius of the property.

The application is currently out for consultation, and can be viewed on the Newport City Council website under reference 26/0137.