A plan for a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) in Kensington that drove a tenant to tears before being rejected is to be reconsidered by Liverpool Council after an enforced delay.
In September, James Jones gave an emotional testimony of life living around Molyneux Road as plans were debated for a seven-bedroom HMO above a former hairdresser’s salon. Proposals submitted by INM Properties Ltd hoped to install seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, two shared kitchens and a communal living room across the three floors.
Mr Jones, who lives in the upper flat above the proposed HMO, became emotional when addressing councillors about his experiences, explaining how he had “put up with a hell of a lot of nighttime drinking” and parking around the site was a “disaster.” A tearful Mr Jones added: “I just want to live in peace.”
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The objection was supported by ward councillor and new Liverpool Labour group leader Liam Robinson, who described the application as “quite frankly completely unacceptable” and was motivated by “greed.” The application was rejected and as a result will now go before the planning committee again, recommended for approval.
It had initially been rejected based on concerns around highway impact and parking, impact on residential amenity for neighbouring properties, and living conditions within the premises. The planning report from almost three months ago detailed how other properties within the terrace are all single dwelling houses and the surrounding area is residential in character with a variety of houses, flats and HMOs.
The amended property would be accessed via an existing doorway on Esher Road while the shopfront on Molyneux Road will be removed and reinstated with brickwork. The new report ahead of a meeting of Liverpool Council’s planning committee next Tuesday said it would be entirely legitimate for members not to accept the recommendation for approval “provided that an appropriately explained case is presented to justify the reasons for refusal. In this instance, the Interim Chief Planning Officer maintains that the proposal is a legitimate form of development for the site.”
It had been expected that a decision would be made on the plans last month, but according to documents released by the city council “immediately prior to the meeting, it became apparent that due to an administrative error, the applicant had not been notified of the meeting.” As such, the application was not considered at that meeting and deferred until December 13.
The proposals are once again recommended for approval by the city’s planning committee subject to conditions, including limiting occupancy to no more than seven.
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