By james art In recent weeks, several plans for Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) have been decided by Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council.
An HMO is a property that is let to at least three people who are not part of the same household. HMOs have shared facilities such as kitchen and bathroom.
Here is a list of recent HMO applications:
Accommodated
Greenbank Road
An application has been submitted to convert a house in Greenbank Road, Darlington, into a six-bedroom HMO with no further building work planned. The motion, tabled by Daniil Vnuchkov, is currently awaiting a decision from Darlington City Council.
(Image: Google)
Approved
Sherburne Road Estate
Durham County Council has approved plans to convert a house on the Sherburn Road Estate into a small HMO for up to four unrelated people. The property, managed by Origin Planning Services, is in an area with a low concentration of HMOs according to the council, with only 4.8 per cent of properties within a 100m radius being HMOs.
(Image: Google)
Gilesgate
Despite objections from county councilors and the Parish Council, Durham County Council’s planning committee found the development compliant with relevant planning policies, including those relating to overcrowding, sustainability and parking. The property at 58 Bradford Crescent, Gilesgate, will be transformed from an ordinary home into an HMO for a maximum of three unrelated occupiers.
(Image: Google) Plans to convert a second house in Gilesgate into an HMO have also been approved by the council despite concerns that there are already too many in the town. A three-bedroom house at 3 Aspen Close, Gilesgate Moor, is to be transformed into a four-bedroom HMO.
(Image: Google)
Denied or withdrawn
Gilesgate
Durham County Council has rejected an application to convert a semi-detached house in Gilesgate into a six-bedroom HMO, citing concerns about the impact on community cohesion.
The council noted that the presence of other HMOs in the area, along with the proximity of bungalow-style homes for non-student residents, influenced the decision.
Consett
The proposal included converting Consett Desserts on Victoria Road from a bakery into a five-bedroom HMO, but the plans were put on hold after the application to Durham County Council was withdrawn on Thursday.
(Image: Google)
Most read
Why wait for news? With The Northern Echo, get real-time updates directly in our ad-free app. Subscribe for unlimited access to our digital edition and enjoy 80% less ads on our website. Your news, your way, every day.