PLANS for a HMO conversion in a “very narrow” Bargoed street have been approved amid warnings the neighbourhood is “already highly congested” with parked cars.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee agreed, by majority vote, to allow 17 Cross Street to be converted into a HMO for up to four people.
The property is currently a three-bedroom house.
HMOs are typically properties for single, unrelated adults who have their own bedrooms but share other communal spaces, such as kitchens or bathrooms.
In this case, under applicant Cemil Guzel’s plans, one extra bedroom would be created on the ground floor of the Cross Street home, and a first floor toilet would be removed to enlarge one of the upstairs bedrooms.
Council planning officer Joshua Burrows told the committee the proposed conversion would create “no new privacy impacts” for neighbours.
The concentration of licensed HMOs in the immediate area is 0.2% and “far below” the Welsh Government’s guideline of 10%, he added.
Cllr Christine Bissex-Foster, who represents the Aberbargoed and Bargoed ward, spoke in opposition to the plans, telling the committee Cross Street is “unusual” in its layout and “very narrow”.
With a reported capacity for eight parked cars, the street could end up dominated by vehicles belonging to the proposed HMO’s occupants, she claimed.
Cllr Bissex-Foster said nearby streets “are already highly congested”, adding the number of complaints she had received about parking “are just out of this world”.
The proposed HMO “is going to make it worse again” for parking locally, she added.
“I really think that if this is granted, it will be very detrimental,” she said, in a broader point about a “trend” of more HMOs in the area. “How many HMOs are we going to allow? I really think this particular application should be denied.”
Cllr Kristian Woodland, a committee member, said he shared concerns about parking in the street and also asked about the proposed conversion’s impact on fire safety.
Mr Burrows said fire safety is a building control matter, rather than a planning consideration, and claimed the increase in residents from a three-bedroom home to a four-bed HMO is “insignificant really” in parking terms.
“We couldn’t justify refusing [the application] for a lack of parking,” he added.
Cllr Mansell Powell noted some of the nearby residents who objected to the HMO plan had concerns about its future occupants.
However, senior planning officer Carwyn Powell said it was “not for us to decide who” eventually lives at a property.
