A Retrospective planning application has been approved by Bridgend Council for a seven-bed house in multiple occupation on Park Street Bridgend.
The application, which asked for a change of use to the first floor of number 11 Park Street, from short term lets to a house in multiple occupation, was granted by members at a planning committee on June 27.
Plans given to members at the meeting said the property, based near the town centre, had historically been used as a public house, though was more recently used as short-stay accommodation for a maximum of 31 days, since 2021.
The application highlighted how the owners would be requesting the change of use in order to extend the amount of time that residents would be able to stay there moving forward, which included people working within Bridgend at the Princess of Wales Hospital and “those in need of temporary housing.”
The report read: “The existing consent for the first floor of the building allows for 7 bedrooms and shared facilities to be used on a short-term basis (maximum stays of 31 days). The proposal will utilise the same internal layout, albeit seeks to extend the time for which residents can stay in the property from 31 days – as such providing more permanent accommodation.”
The application was approved after lengthy discussions, where councillors highlighted a policy that was in place to limit the number of HMO’s within 50 metres to ten percent of the total number of properties.
They said as there were 28 properties in the vicinity the approval of a third HMO would take it slightly above that limit – though officers responded by saying on balance going over the 10% figure by a fraction would be acceptable under planning.
Additional objections were also raised over concerns with parking, as well as by Bridgend Town Council who asked that the application be deferred to allow time for an investigation into a potentially historic underground passageway that could be located in the cellar of the property- though this was not deemed by officers to be a reasonable request.
The approval was later passed by members after a recorded vote, with seven in favour of the plans and three against them. It follows the approval of another HMO site just metres away on the same street in May of 2024.
