Agenda item

Watling Ward

Change of use from a permitted 6-person HMO to a 7-bedroom, 8-person House in Multiple Occupation (Sui Generis) with improved communal living space and amended internal layout; Reinstatement of front balcony, wood. Existing woodwork to front to be repaired, refurbished and painted. To the rear, to install 3 x rooflights and install cycle store within existing side garage. (revised scheme).  Following removal of permitted development rights (Lawful Development Certificate ref: MC/25/0950).

Discussion:

The Senior Planner outlined the application in detail for the change of use from Class C3 Dwellinghouse into a 7-bedroom, 8-person House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) (Sui Generis) with improved communal living space and amended internal layout; reinstatement of front balcony, wood.  Existing woodwork to front to be repaired, refurbished and painted. To the rear, to install 3 x rooflights and install cycle store within existing side garage. (revised scheme). Following removal of permitted development rights (Lawful Development Certificate ref: MC/25/0950).

The Senior Planner confirmed, that within a 500-metre radius, there were 33 HMOs which represented 1.3% of the housing stock, which was not considered an over proliferation of HMOs in the area.

An alteration to the description of this planning application was included in the supplementary agenda advice sheet.

With the agreement of the Committee, Councillor Coombs addressed the Committee as Ward Councillor and raised the following concerns:

• Park Avenue was a residential road comprising of 58 separate properties and was located within a conservation area. This application site was directly opposite Gillingham Park, an extremely popular and well used public open space.
• A previous planning application to convert a 6-bedroom HMO into a 7-bedroom, 8-person HMO was refused in December 2025. While some of the reasons for refusal had been addressed, concerns regarding parking demand remained unresolved. The application site sat outside a Parking Management Zone, meaning Medway Council had no control to restrict the number of parking permits issued, rendering any such controls meaningless.
• A parking beat survey was undertaken during the early hours of a weekday. Given the high visitor numbers to Gillingham Park, it was considered that a more accurate assessment would have been achieved if undertaken during peak periods, such as weekends and during school holiday.
• The previous refusal concluded that the proposal would result in an intensification of use, leading to increased comings and goings, as well as additional noise, disturbance, nuisance and waste. These concerns were not referenced in the officer’s report.
• The density of multi-occupancy had been misrepresented, if this planning application and the adjacent proposal were approved, there would be 3 HMOs within a street of 58 properties which would equate to 5.2% concentration. When considered alongside the nearby 13-bed care home which accommodated residents with significant mental health needs, there would have been a notable clustering of high occupancy uses. In this section alone, 14 out of 17 properties were multi-occupancy, which would accommodate a total of 56 residents. 
• Concern over the level of concentration contributed to an over-intensification of multiple occupancy uses within what was otherwise a residential street.
• Concerns were raised regarding increased parking pressures, waste, anti-social behaviour, additional noise and general disturbance arising from additional comings and goings. Furthermore, the proposal was not considered to align with the emerging Local Plan.
• Overall, the planning application was considered to have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the area, as well as on neighbouring amenities, traffic conditions and parking provision.

The Committee discussed the application in detail and Members were concerned with increased parking pressures. 

The Service Manager - Development Management clarified that a parking beat survey had been requested by Medway Council’s Highways Team and had been undertaken in accordance with the standard Lambeth Methodology.  Medway Council’s Highways Officers had reviewed the survey, considered it acceptable and raised no objections.

The Service Manager - Development Management confirmed that a Bin Management, Waste and Recycling Plan, had been provided.  

The Service Manager - Development Management explained that condition 9 required remedial works to the balcony, and other elements to the front elevation, be carried out prior to first occupation, in order to restore the building to its original condition. 

The Senior Planner confirmed that a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC) had previously been issued for a change of use from a Class 3 Dwelling to a Class 4 HMO. However, this use had not been implemented prior to the introduction of the Article 4 Direction and, therefore, the lawful use of the property remained as a C3 single dwelling.   

The Service Manager - Development Management advised that if Members were minded to approve the application, an additional condition could be imposed to ensure that the front balconies were not used for storage purposes.

The Senior Planner confirmed that the parking beat survey had been undertaken, in accordance with the Lambeth Methodology, at 1 o’clock on two separate occasions and that parking on the road was unrestricted.

Decision:      

Approved with conditions 1 to 9 as set out in the report for the reasons stated in the report with an additional condition to ensure the balconies were not used for storage purposes. 

Condition 10:

The front facing balcony space serving the hereby approved Sui Generis

House In Multiple Occupancy shall not be used for the storage of any

materials, equipment, refuse or recycling, household items, or any other

paraphernalia. The balcony use shall be solely used as private amenity

space for future occupants of the property.

Reason: To ensure that the development maintains a high-quality appearance and safeguard against the character of the area and significance of the Conservation Area in accordance with Policies BNE1, BNE2 and BNE12 of the Medway Local Plan (2003).