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Councillors expressed concern about the ballooning number of bedsits in and around Chorley town centre – moments before approving dozens more of them.
Members of Chorley Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead to the conversion of buildings on St. George’s Road and St. Thomas’s Road into so-called “houses of multiple occupation” (HMOs).
At the St. George’s Road site, Grade II-listed premises previously occupied by a printing business will become a 16-bed HMO, with an extension to the rear of the building, while the vacated offices of Age UK on St. Thomas’s Road will be turned into a 15-bed property.
Town hall planners had recommended the committee members give the go-ahead to the proposals – and they duly did.
However, while acknowledging there was no planning reason to refuse the latest bedsit blueprints put before them, Cllr Neville Whitham said they were reflective of “a worrying trend of HMOs in the town centre”.
He added: “We seem to be inundated.”
His committee colleague Cllr Craige Southern said he was currently having conversations with the authority’s licensing department over similar concerns about the proliferation of bedsits.
The council’s environmental health officer made no objection to either proposal, but did state “insufficient detail” had been provided on the St. George’s Road scheme regarding how it met minimum standards surrounding shared facilities and space, as well as fire safety and ventilation. However, councillors were told those matters would be reviewed during the separate licence application process.
Meanwhile, of the St. Thomas’s Road plan, deputy committee chair Alex Hilton said it was “one of the better” HMOs when it came to the size of the rooms being created, an issue about which members have previously raised concerns on other developments.
A report by planning officers noted the need to “heavily” sub-divide the listed building on St. George’s Road would “erode [its] significance…somewhat”. But with the front entrance and hallway to remain unaltered, “the historic plan form of the building would be retained”.
The rear extension was also not considered to be harmful to the property, because of the”cumulative development” that had already taken place around it.
Planning officials concluded that bringing the building back into “active use” was the best way to maintain its significance in the conservation area within which it sits.
No dedicated parking will be available to future occupants of the St. George’s Road building, while eight off-street spaces will be on offer to residents of the St. Thomas’s Road development. However, highways officers at Lancashire County Council did not raise any objections in either case, because of the “sustainable” town centre locations of the HMOs, within close proximity of services and public transport options.
Both proposals were approved by a majority, with 11 votes in favour and one abstention.
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