The Isle of Wight’s county town will get a new ‘low cost’ House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) despite fierce opposition from a neighbour opposite.
County Hall today (yesterday) approved Ryan Newman’s proposal to turn an existing five-bed home at 29 Albert Street, Newport, into a seven-bed HMO.
The property would be operated by care provider Call on Me who would provide supported living accommodation for six people, according to a Design, Access and Planning Statement prepared by chartered town planner, Paul Stack.
Mr Stack said the proposed accommodation met the definition of ‘affordable housing’.
His document said:
“The proposal represents an appropriate and sympathetic introduction of low cost rented accommodation that will allow for the continued upkeep and maintenance of the building, thereby benefitting the urban environment and helping to maintain the vitality of the town centre.”
On the ground floor, there would be a living room, kitchen and utility room, two bedrooms and a shared bathroom.
The first floor would have five bedrooms.
Six out of seven bedrooms would be en-suite.
Also included in the application is a replacement of the house’s garage door at the front with a smaller bathroom window, a single storey flat-roofed extension at the rear of the property as well as a new bike shelter and bin store.
Kelly Plumbley, resident of 11 Albert Street, said in a public comment:
“This is clearly a “make money quick” renovation with no thought considered to local residents.
“Firstly, the planning notice has been attached to a telegraph pole facing outwards towards the road, meaning nobody has really seen the notice.
“This has clearly been done so nobody really sees it! There is plenty of space facing towards the pavement whereby it could have been placed.
“This road has limited parking and we already find ourselves having to park several roads away, most days.”
In an Officer Written Justification, the council said:
“It is considered the proposal would be consistent with the council’s spatial strategy which seeks to focus housing within and adjacent to defined settlements and to prioritise the reuse of previously developed (brownfield) land.”
Proposed changes to the house were assessed as ‘relatively modest and innocuous’.
Considering the application’s impact on neighbours, the council continued:
“The proposal would see this currently empty building renovated and brought back into use for a residential use which would be compatible with surrounding residential uses.
“There is no evidence that HMOs are causing any particular issues in this part of Newport and the Council’s environmental health officer has raised no concerns with the proposed use.”
The proposal was not considered to have ‘any serious implications’ for the Island’s highway network.
Conditions attached to the council’s approval include development starting within three years of permission being granted, submitted plans being adhered to, the bin store being in place prior to the HMO being in use and the property housing no more than seven residents.
Internal and external changes to the property must also be completed before the HMO comes into use.
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