Proposals have been made for a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) above a Liverpool bakery.
Liverpool Council ’s planning committee will be asked to pass judgement on plans for six bedrooms to be installed across two floors above the existing Dafna Cheese Cake Factory building on Smithdown Road. As part of the proposals, refurbishments will be made to the ground floor retail unit and the construction of a single storey extension to the rear.
A report submitted ahead of the committee meeting next Tuesday at Liverpool Town Hall documented how the existing property, which stands across four storeys with a converted loft, has two store rooms on the basement, with the bakery retail unit on the ground floor. On the upper floors are an office, bedroom, kitchen and a bathroom.
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A proposed layout would comprise four bedrooms on the first floor, with a further two on the second floor. The report said the proposed refurbishment of the existing retail unit is deemed appropriate “since it would be a real improvement for the operational part of the business as well as for its visual appearance and character.”
It is said that as other properties nearby also have retail units at ground floor level with residential accommodation above, the conversion to a six-bed HMO “would be in keeping” with the character of the area that would be expected in such an area. The application site is a mid-terraced property situated along Smithdown Road, specifically within the block between Gorsebank Road to the west, Greenbank Road to the south-east and Hollybank Road to the South.
The site is located within the Smithdown Road District Centre as allocated within Liverpool Local Plan. Objections have been made by Greenbank ward member Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins on the grounds that no further HMOs should be permitted in the area.
Liverpool Council planning officers however have recommended the plans go ahead and said in the report that the “introduction of a 6 bed HMO in this location is therefore considered to be an appropriate use.” It added: “It is considered that the proposed development would not cause undue harm to future occupiers or neighbour amenity”. The plans are recommended for approval on the basis that the number of persons in residence shall not exceed six at any one time.
