A REFUSAL to allow a four bedroom home to be used as a house of multiple occupation has been upheld on appeal.
Adam Vers, of Kardinale Investments Ltd, had wanted to use the two-storey property at Badger’s Walk in Undy has a house of multiple occupation, or HMO, for six people but Monmouthshire County Council rejected the application in July last year as the same number of parking spaces couldn’t be provided.
An appeal to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales argued the garage built into the house and its driveway would provide sufficient parking.
But the independent inspector, who in January visited the site which is off a private drive on a hill near the junction with St Mellons Close, said the garage and three parking spaces were still insufficient.
Inspector G Hall stated it was unlikely the garage would be used as the house would be shared by six people living independently of one another.
The inspector stated: “The independent nature of HMO occupancy makes it unlikely that the garage would be available for parking at all times.
“At times, vehicles would need to be moved to allow access to and from the garage. However, given the independent nature of the occupiers, this would not always be practical.
“As a result, the garage would become a less attractive parking option and may not always be available for use. I therefore consider the three external parking spaces proposed would be insufficient to meet the parking needs.”
The inspector also said a HMO couldn’t be compared to a four-bedroom family home: “Six individuals living independently would be unlikely to share vehicles and journeys in the same way as a single household.”
Information submitted during the appeal claimed the property is currently used as an Airbnb holiday let with cars often parked on the road and partly on the pavement, which the inspector also said they noted during their mid-morning site visit.
The inspector also said Severn Tunnel Junction railway station is more than two miles away, there is a steep climb to the nearest bus stop and shops at Magor Square require a round trip of more than a mile on foot, all of which the inspector said made car use more likely.
G Hall found the development “would have a harmful effect on highway safety, with regard to parking” at odds with the council’s policy.
