Councillors have again bucked officers’ advice and rejected plans for a large shared house in a Filton neighbourhood already swamped by bedsits – despite warnings of another costly appeal.
Developer Sam Andrews, who last year successfully persuaded planning inspectors to overturn the committee’s decisions to refuse permission for three houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) just quarter of a mile down the road and to award him “thousands and thousands” in costs, told members he would be appealing once more.
Officers recommended approving Mr Andrews’ latest application, to turn an existing small HMO for three to six people at 18 Braemar Avenue into seven bedsits. But South Gloucestershire Council development management committee voted 5-4 to reject it because of the “harmful impact” on residents’ amenity and inadequate parking.
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The decision on Thursday, March 3, came days after the council’s most senior planning committee again went against planning officers’ advice and threw out an application by a different developer to turn 15 Braemar Crescent, which is a stone’s throw to the rear of 18 Braemar Avenue, into an eight-bed shared house. Although the council recently adopted a cap of 10 per cent of HMOs in the same area and a ban on family homes being “sandwiched” between two shared houses, this only includes licensed properties, so those with fewer than five bedrooms are not counted.
The latest meeting was told 18 Braemar Avenue was in a row of five consecutive HMOs but only one was licensed and so did not constitute sandwiching. Filton town councillor Alan Bird told the committee: “We encourage members to have strength in their conviction and refuse this application.
“This application would lead to an over-intensification of the population in the immediate area and take this property out of the general housing stock that local families would want to make their home.” Mr Andrews said: “This property has been a HMO for the last 10 years. I have since extended and intensified the property to a six-bedroom HMO plus study under permitted development.
“Therefore, effectively this application is only asking for the study to be rented as a seventh bedroom. The property has three parking spaces and the transport officer has no objections.”
He said the application fully complied with the authority’s new supplementary planning document (SPD) which introduced the 10 per cent limit of HMOs in a locality. Mr Andrews said: “Councillors will recall three applications that were refused at Northville Road last year and subsequently overturned at appeal.
“The council lost cost applications on these appeals which cost the taxpayer thousands and thousands of pounds. I was the applicant on these. If it is refused today, I will appeal and put in a further costs application.
“With budgets so tight, why would councillors choose to throw taxpayers’ money down the drain?” A planning officer said there were only two licensed HMOs in the immediate area.
Cllr Ernie Brown said the SPD did not carry any weight in this case but other reasons for refusal under planning policies did apply – loss of residents’ amenity and lack of available parking. He said: “We cannot keep on adding HMOs.”
Cllr Katie Cooper said: “We are going round the same circles on HMOs. We are constantly told by local knowledge that there are multiple HMOs in this area and there are HMOs either side of this house, that this is sandwiching. If you’re living in this area, you don't care whether that HMO has planning permission or is licensed – it is an HMO.”
Also read: The north Bristol road where residents are fighting an invasion of bedsits
The planning officer said the council needed evidence when making decisions but it had records of licensed bedsits only. Council solicitor Tonya Meers warned members: “You need to be very careful about relying on a parking objection because the application complies with our policies.
"You are leaving yourself exposed to costs at an appeal. Amenity is a bit more subjective and if it’s based on local evidence, that’s fine.”
A report to the committee said: “Contrary to what the town council says, HMO properties currently represent 4.6 per cent of households within the locality – eight out of 174 dwellings. This would increase to 5.2 per cent if this application is approved, well below the 10 per cent threshold. Similarly, within a 100m radius of the application site, there are 60 properties of which two are licensed HMOs, or 3.3 per cent.”
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