Controversial HMO plan to go ahead as council accused of acting 'unreasonably'

Plans for an HMO in Dowlais have been approved on appeal and costs awarded against the council because an inspector thinks the council acted unreasonably. The plans are for the change of use from a four-bedroom dwelling to a six-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Overton Street.

But despite Merthyr Tydfil’s planning committee rejecting it in May this year, a planning inspector appointed by Welsh Government has allowed it on appeal. The inspector also approved the applicant’s application for costs from the council saying that the council “acted unreasonably” in refusing the application contrary to officers’ recommendations without reasoned evidenced planning grounds for doing so.

The inspector said this resulted in the applicant incurring the costs of pursuing the appeal unnecessarily and the inspector found a full award of costs is justified. The inspector said that the main issues around the application were the effects on the character and amenity of the area and on highway safety in relation to parking.

But the inspector said that the proposal “would not result in unacceptable harm to the character or amenity of the area” and that it would “not cause harm to highway safety.” There had been nine letters of objection to the application from the public which had raised concerns about the impact on the character of the area, parking issues, disruption and nuisance, increased anti-social behaviour, concerns over personal safety and the impact on residents’ mental well-being and the types of people who might occupy the property. To get all the latest Merthyr Tydfil news straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

At the May meeting when the application was refused, councillors’ reasons for refusal included that there would not be adequate supervision of the property and residents, that it would change the fabric of the small street and be detrimental to its character and that the street is already heavily congested and the parking situation is extremely difficult. They also put forward that it would result in disruptions and other nuisances, that it’s likely to result in an increase in anti-social behaviour and the street already has a high level of anti-social behaviour and that the development would give rise to concerns of personal safety for existing residents in the area.

At a planning committee meeting on November 13, Councillor Clive Jones said: “My view is that we didn’t behave unreasonably.” He said they had a site meeting and they had quite a debate on this and the reasons why they refused it. He said he doesn’t accept at all that they’ve behaved unreasonably saying it’s a “throwaway” statement.