Leicester house extension plans approved despite future HMO fears

A homeowner’s extension plan has sparked concerns the property will be transformed into a house in multiple occupation (HMO). The currently three-bed family home on the corner of Upperton Road and Upperton Rise is set to have a two-storey side extension added after permission was granted at a Leicester City Council planning meeting on Wednesday night.

The larger interior of No.118 will have four bedrooms, one of which will be on the ground floor. Each room is set to have its own en-suite, with a living room, kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor as well. Those speaking at last night’s meeting also said each room appeared to have its own meters for bills.

Planning officers had recommended the plan for approval, deeming the scheme put forward by owner Charles Beckford acceptable. However, local ward councillor for Westcotes Sarah Russell raised concerns that the home was being set up for use as a HMO – where three or more residents from multiple households live and share communal areas, such as the kitchen and bathroom.

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There are a number of restrictions in the city on the use of homes as HMOs after clusters of them, including rented student homes, started springing up in parts of the city over recent years. This in turn has led to a rise in complaints about anti-social behaviour, noise, littering and parking problems in the areas affected and a lose of much-needed family homes. Properties on Upperton Road are subject to these restrictions.

Addressing the planning committee, Coun Russell said: “What we’ve got is a developer who probably knows the system, who has set up a property – with individual rooms, with individual bathrooms, with individual metering, which will tick all our boxes for licensing it as a privately occupied space – to then operate it as a HMO. And I’m guessing they think we probably won’t enforce [HMO regulations] because ‘is it having that much of an impact on neighbours?’

“[It is] very, very clear implication that this will be turned into a HMO, because why would you put in individual metering if it was going to be a family property? I think this is a game of chance and I don’t think it’s a game we should be allowed to play with our residents in our communities. This is about our community. We had to fight really hard to make sure we protected family homes in our area.”

However, planning officers said permission could not be denied based purely on speculation there might be a future breach of the rules. Their report submitted to the committee ahead of the meeting labelled the layout “unusual” for a family home, but said it was still possible it was intended for this use.

Head of planning for the authority Grant Butterworth told the committee: “What you need to deal with is what’s in front of you. An application for an extension to a house, the internal alterations don’t need planning permission. It isn’t safe for you to seek to refuse planning permission on the basis of something you think might happen. The extension and the proposals meet all the necessary tests in our opinion in view of it should be recommended for approval.”

“Should there be a future breach and a future change of use, there is the ability for us to take action there,” he added. “It would depend on the nature of the occupancy, the impact of the occupancy [on the neighbourhood] and the enforcement case assessed at that time.”

Coun Russell also raised concerns about parking on the street in front of the house. The corner is used as a crossing by many school children, she said, and parking there “could create a potentially really dangerous situation” if the extension resulted in more cars at the home. She called for the council to extend the existing double yellow lines there.

Isabella McKnight, transport planner for the council, said that was not a matter to be determined through this planning application, but could be considered separately. The extension would not necessarily increase the number of cars parking on the street, she added. The planning committee voted to approve the application.