'Inadequate' plan for 7-bed HMO refused

Plans to add an extra bedroom barely larger than a prison cell to a 6-bed HMO have been refused by Tameside Council.

The landlord of the house on Newmarket Road in Ashton wanted to convert the first-floor communal space into a 10m-square seventh bedroom, but planning officers turned the proposal down because it would create conditions that were too cramped. 

As three of the bedrooms in the house – which is in the process of being converted into an HMO – will count as doubles, the council say an extra bedroom would mean nine people could potentially live across its three floors. 

However, regulations say the property’s floor space isn’t large enough for that many residents. 

“The proposed shared facilities are considered inadequate to cater for the needs of up to 9 occupants and so that the residential environment that would be created fails to meet the needs of potential occupiers,” said a report from TMBC’s Director of Space, Julian Jackson. 

“Because of the failure to provide a high standard of amenity for future occupants, the proposal does not constitute sustainable development as defined by the NPPF. The recommendation is therefore that the application be refused. 

“There were no amendments to the scheme, or conditions which could reasonably have been imposed, which could have made the development acceptable, and it was therefore not possible to approve the application.” 

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the average monthly price of a one-bed rental in Tameside is £607, meaning the landlord could reasonably expect to bring in more than £3,600 per month – £43,200 per year - from the original six-bedroom plan.