Granary Court change to House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) approved despite objections

A recent planning application for the four-bedroom house stated that: “The proposed change of use will have no adverse effect on the amenity of the neighbourhood with no external changes to property.

“Parking and service requirement will remain unaltered and will have no adverse traffic impact or detract from the amenity of local residents. Exiting gardens, park area, driveway, garden areas, and hard surfaces will also remain unaltered.”

A planning committee report stated that the development was acceptable with regards to the Strategic Planning Policy Statement for Northern Ireland (2016).

There were no objections to the application from governmental bodies such as NI Water and DfI Roads, but officers did receive ten letters of objection from residents. Despite this, the application was recommended for approval.

The committee reported concluded: “While the application represents a material change of use from a dwelling house to an HMO, the end use is still of a residential nature.”

“It is considered that most of the dwellings in the surrounding area remain as single-family occupancy and that the introduction of this HMO would not be significant or harmful to the area.

“Given that the property is not being altered in any way, it can easily return to use as a single-family dwelling in the future if circumstances were to change.” The application will be presented to council members at a future planning committee meeting.