Agenda item

The Committee considered the above-mentioned full application for change of use of property from a residential dwelling (C3) to a 7-bedroom HMO (sui generis).

The Joint Assistant Director for Planning, Claire Upton-Brown clarified that Councillor Howard Smith had not referred this application to the Committee, but rather she had referred it, owing to the interest and discussion surrounding HMOs at the Council.

The Committee received a presentation from the Senior Planning Officer, Katie Williams.  The Committee noted that the application site was located towards the northern end of Applegarth Avenue.  It related to the righthandside of a pair of semi-detached dwellings.  The property was currently undergoing refurbishment and internal reconfiguration to create 7 bedrooms, each with its own private bathroom, communal kitchen and living area.  The property had existing capacity for two parking spaces, however, the County Highway Authority had said that they consider there should be three parking spaces.  They had therefore requested that the driveway was widened as well as the vehicle crossover which could be secured by condition as can the bicycle and bin storage.  Three bedrooms were provided on the ground floor and four bedrooms on the first floor.  The bedroom sizes would comply with the National Space Standards.

In conclusion, it was the planning officer’s view that the proposed 7-bedroom HMO could be provided without further additions to the property.  Whilst there was a requirement to widen the driveway, this would not adversely affect the character of the area.  The proposal would also comply with Local Plan policies H1 and H5.  Subject to the legal agreement and conditions as set out, the application was recommended for approval.

The Chairperson, Councillor King agreed to permit Councillor Howard Smith to speak in his capacity as ward councillor for this application.  He was therefore not a part of the Committee, gave his speech and left the room for the duration of the debate and decision made.

The Committee noted the concerns raised by Councillor Smith who stated that the character of an area was subjective and depended on how you defined it; was it by the shape of buildings, its amenities, or the community cohesion.  Most of the HMO’s were located in a particular area and therefore the 15% figure given regarding the concentration of HMO’s was not entirely reflective of the overall situation.  Was supportive of a couple of HMO’s but not the large numbers in Applegarth Avenue proposed which will inevitably affect its character.  It was incumbent upon the university to provide more housing so that these three-bedroom properties were available for more families.  It was noted that in the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) it was stated that there was a need for 10%, 1 bedroom and 40%, 3-bedroom market homes in Guildford.  This should be taken into consideration so that local residents are not priced out of the market. 

The Committee discussed the application and noted comments that HMO’s also provided opportunities for people to have a room when they could not afford 2–3-bedroom homes.  It was noted that in 2022, there was change of use application to the same property from C4 to  7-bedroom property that was refused.  The reasons for refusal related to the fact that the proposed bike shed would have been too close to the bedroom window.  Conditions had been applied to overcome these previous reasons for refusal.  It was also noted that HMOs were already included in the SHMAA calculations and was important to noted that the 7-bedrooms were not counted as 7 individual HMO’s but one HMO.

The Committee noted that the requirement for three parking spaces to be made would necessitate the removal of the existing shrubs.  Therefore, the Committee agreed that it should be conditioned that the driveway was constructed of a permeable surface.  It was also confirmed that the applicant in this case had provided sufficient detail with regard to the storage of bicycles and bins and therefore condition 8 was sufficient.     

A motion was moved and seconded to approve the application which was carried.

In conclusion, having taken consideration of the representations received in relation to this application, the Committee

RESOLVED to approve application 24/P/00465 subject to the amended condition in relation to ensuring the driveway was constructed of a permeable surface as detailed above and:

(i)                That a S106 Agreement be entered into to secure the provision of:

·        SANG and SAMM Contributions in accordance with the adopted tariff of the SPA Avoidance Strategy to mitigate against the impact on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.

(ii)              That upon completion of the above, the application be determined by the Head of Place.  The preliminary view is that the application should be granted subject to conditions.