HMO refusal ‘unreasonable’, council told

Hull City Council “behaved unreasonably” in refusing planning permission for a house in multiple occupation (HMO), the Planning Inspectorate said.

The council rejected plans to turn three flats on Dover Street, near Spring Bank, into one seven-bed HMO after concerns over parking.

However, the decision was overturned at appeal after the Inspectorate reviewed parking outside the property and ruled in favour of the applicant Myton Gate Property Group.

The Inspectorate said Hull City Council had “behaved unreasonably by not providing an objective analysis to substantiate the reason for refusal”.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the application was discussed at the council’s planning committee on 23 April after being called-in by Councillor Karen Wood, who had concerns over the number of HMOs in the street.

The application was recommended for approval by council officers, but it was refused by councillors.

The reason given for refusal was that the plans “would create an additional demand for on-street car parking” and “would lead to an unacceptable impact on the amenity of the surrounding area”.

However, prior to the meeting, the applicant undertook a parking survey which found there was “easily sufficient space on Dover Street to allow for extra cars, and there was no evidence to suggest a HMO would create parking issues”.

After the application was refused by the council, Myton Gate Property Group launched appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Inspectorate’s report said: “The council has not provided any evidence to refute the appellant’s parking surveys.

“The highway authority has not objected and there is little evidence before me to suggest that the surveys are incorrect.”

The Inspectorate said it had visited the site and said “there were several available spaces along both sides of the street”.

Hull City Council said it did not wish to comment.