Surrey-based company’s plans for 14-bed HMO in valleys scuppered by planners

Elgan Hearn Local Democracy Reporter

Controversial plans for a 14-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO) in the valleys owned by a real estate company based in Surrey have been rejected by planners.

Earlier this year, plans were lodged with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council to convert a building in Tredegar into a 14-bedroom HMO.

The proposal by Pascal Stumpers of Surrey-based Cobra Real Estate Limited was to change the use of Elmwood House, in Georgetown, Tredegar, from C2 (residential institution) to a “sui generis” use class so that it could become a 14-bedroom HMO.

Planning agent Charlotte Hall of Harvey Bowes said the “site is sustainably located with access to local services and transport”.

Miss Hall argued that the proposal “makes efficient use of an existing building” and “represents a sustainable form of development”.

But the proposal has caused uproar locally, with 137 letters objecting to it sent to the council during the consultation. They stated it would cause “harm” to the area and create issues of “anti-social behaviour”.

Local county borough councillors had also raised concerns over the “scale and intensity of the proposed HMO” and the potential for traffic issues to “endanger” pedestrians, including children walking to school.

In her report, development team manager Helen Hinton said that HMO use could not be compared to normal residential home use.

Ms Hinton said: “The scale and intensity of the proposed occupation would be likely to generate increased levels of activity associated with daily arrivals and departures, visitors, deliveries and the use of shared internal and external communal facilities.

“Unlike a single household or the lawful managed C2 use, occupants would be expected to follow a variety of independent routines, work patterns and lifestyles, resulting in activity occurring throughout extended periods of the day and evening.

“Whilst the behaviour of individual occupants cannot be assumed, it is reasonable to conclude that occupation by up to 14 independent residents would generate a materially greater frequency of movements and general activity than would typically be associated with the lawful use of the site.”

Ms Hinton continued: “The principle of providing HMO accommodation at this location is not, in itself, considered unacceptable.

“Insufficient information has been submitted to demonstrate that the parking demand arising from the proposed 14-bedroom HMO can be satisfactorily accommodated within the application site or the surrounding highway network.

“The site provides limited off-street parking provision, and no robust assessment of likely parking demand, parking accumulation, or available on-street parking capacity has been provided.

“In the absence of such information, and having regard to the objection maintained by the Highway Authority, the Local Planning Authority is not satisfied that the development would avoid unacceptable reliance upon on-street parking or that any resulting overspill parking could be accommodated without detriment to highway safety and the free flow of traffic.”

Ms Hinton went on to refuse the application, stating that it would have “an unacceptable adverse impact on residential amenity”.

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