Plans to turn a three-bedroom property in Twerton into a five-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO) have been refused by Bath & North East Somerset Council as there is already a high proportion of shared housing nearby.
An application was submitted last October to convert No. 7 Rooksbridge Walk into a HMO.
The council keeps a register of HMOs as it is acknowledged that although HMOs play a role in the local housing mix, a cumulative impact can lead to increased noise, waste and traffic, potentially disrupting the lives of people living nearby.
No residential property can therefore be ‘sandwiched’ between HMOs and no more than 10% of properties within a 100-metre radius should be in HMO use.
In the case of No.7 Rooksbridge Walk, which is a mid-terraced property, the planning application failed on both counts.
Council planners, in publishing their decision report on Thursday 9th January, said: “The site is within an area of high HMO concentration. The HMO density is 16.6% which exceeds the 10% allowance. Therefore, the proposals would not support a balanced community.”
The change of use of No. 7 would also result in people living at No. 6 having an HMO on either side as No. 5 is also a house in multiple occupation.
Although the proposed HMO at No. 7 met minimum space standards, and it was deemed it would not cause any transport problems, it would fail to be energy efficient as it did not have an EPC (energy performance certificate) level C, said council officers.
The council had received two objections in relation to the EPC rating and also the principle of the property becoming a HMO.