Neighbours and a councillor have objected to plans to turn a family home into a shared house because of the effect that it would have on the community.
But Brighton and Hove City Council planning officials have advised councillors to approve planning permission to convert 30 Bodiam Avenue, in Bevendean, into a six-bedroom HMO (house in multiple occupation).
The application, from student housing company Rivers Birtwell, is due to go before the council’s Planning Committee next Wednesday (7 February).
Labour councillor Jacob Taylor, who represents Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, objected to the plans on the grounds of noise, overdevelopment and the harm to property values.
He said: “We really, really need to retain family homes in Brighton and this area in particular. Not another HMO – we need to bring families back to the city.”
Twenty-four objections have been sent to the council, with concerns ranging from the adverse effect on falling numbers in local schools, the design, lack of need and the area’s “over-saturation” with HMOs.
One anonymous objector, whose details were redacted by the council, said: “Let Bevendean provide houses for people that are part of the community.
“Allowing 30 Bodiam Avenue to extend and have six people living there will crowd everyone around it.
“There is student housing for students. It’s not appropriate to displace local families so student landlords can distort the rental and property prices to the detriment of our community and school.”
Another anonymous objector, whose details were also redacted, said: “There is literally no room left for any more cars. Also in the past few years the rise of student accommodation along the Lewes Road and London Road is astronomical.
“We are in desperate need of family homes. The social housing list is so long and this house would be perfect for a family.”
Council policy permits properties to be turned into shared houses when no more than 20 per cent of the properties in the wider neighbourhood are licensed HMOs – and no more than 10 per cent within a 50-metre radius.
A report to the Planning Committee said that no more than 5.6 per cent of homes in the wider neighbourhood were shared houses and none were within 50m of 30 Bodiam Avenue.
Rivers Birtwell said that soundproofing would be installed along the party wall with 32 Bodiam Avenue and that communal areas were positioned away from the shared wall.
The firm added: “Generally, occupiers of shared houses are less likely to have access to private vehicles than families.
“Additionally, the occupancy level of the property would remain relatively constant. Therefore, it is not likely that a significant increase in on-street parking or vehicular trips would occur as a result of the conversion to an HMO.
“Notwithstanding this, Bevendean is not a controlled parking zone so the current on-street parking situation is not considered to be under strain.”
Storage for four bicycles would be provided as part of the conversion.
The Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm on Wednesday 7 February. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
What is the point of these tall student flats along Lewes Road and all over our city to free up family homes for families if family homes are also turned into hmo ?
Now we must surely have enough student accommodation and the council should be turning down applications to continue conversion of family homes being lost to local families who are desperate for homes. I thought this was the plan, build loads of tall blocks for students to free up houses for families, when will the council do this ?
The council has very little room to manouvre when it comes to planning.
It has to follow the law and can only reject an application on valid planning grounds.
Councillors on the planning committee can’t simply vote against it because they don’t like it or they think there are too many students in the area because the applicant will just appeal to an inspector and be over ruled.
Many HMOs are not occupied by students, but low-paid workers. The one near me is predominantly occupied by hospital porters.. much as I appreciate their work, the shift patterns they work on lead to loud gatherings at odd times.
Shift work can be like that, I appreciate how much it upturns one’s circadian. Don’t think that’s just unique to HMOs though; most likely more a case of that is more affordable than other choices.
Absolutely in agreement. Freeing up accommodation for locals was the rationale behind the massive increase in purpose-built student housing. But what no one seems to have considered (or simply turned a wilful blind eye to) is that after Y1 of uni in halls etc students seek out shared accommodation. It’s a lot cheaper and potentially more desirable. Also, as total student numbers continue to rise, so pressure on housing increases anyway.
You make a true point there, Y2 & 3 do seem to prefer private accomodation after the first year. Being able to choose with who you live with, smaller people per flat, and better prices are all factors in play there.
Year 1 intake still account for filling up student accomodations, so there’s still not enough built currently, however, a good point you’ve raised there, is can they be made to stay appealing for students for the rest of their degree?
It’s ridiculous how many students and HMOs have popped up in Bevendean and moulscoomb in the last couple of years… the doctors/dentists in the area are virtually non existent students are rude to neighbours and families need homes..there are too many student accommodation in this area as it is ..LISTEN TO THE RESIDENTS and not to the penny pinching student HMO landlords who just want to force normal families out of an area that WAS a council estate that families. Could afford into a PLACE (not even a home) they can’t afford
I believe student numbers are falling for several reasons. This should mean the market for shared accommodation is shrinking, but apparently not .
HMOs aren’t all students either. You’d do well to consider a lot are used as emergency and temporary accomodations.
But this is for students as the application is made by rivers birtwell a student housing company
In this instance yes, however, properties can and have changed hands. I think you’d be surprised how many are actually around.
Looks like the current owner/occupier has given up doing any gardening already, comparing it to next door’s apparently neat grass bank.
Or they prefer the ecologically more friendly wildgrowth.
Yet another blow for families as Brighton council continues its relentless drive to convert all of Moulsecoomb, Bevendean and the Lewes Road into one gigantic student campus.
Presumably they’ll be happy when there are no actual residents left on this area at all.
Yes so they can blame the government over not having any cash..
The council isn’t driving this.
Developers are but the council don’t have a lot of options for refusing such applications. And when they do the applicant just appealed to the planning inspectorate who then mostly overrule the council.
There’s plenty of HMOs for sale on RightMove being sold with tenants in situ. I also note that there are plenty of rental listings looking for tenants for the September academic intake, some of which have been listed since November. Makes me wonder whether the market is saturated already,
I hope so.
They’ll get eaten up my the homeless projects if the council doesn’t buy them directly.
That is why I am still street homeless.
Are all properties of many occupies registered, honestly?
Live in bevendean and see plenty of properties with multiple mopeds in drive, not a family home
What is the occupation rate for all the student towers, why are they so expensive for students to rent. Many more questions needed to be answered and some sort of checks impamented.
There is no council tax paid by full time students in student HMOs, as such there is a reduction in the council tax Brighton and Hove council receives. While at the same time the Student HMO’S increase the demand on the services the council tax funds. This is met by increasing the Council tax that the rest of the community pays to cover the services the Council provides to the student HMO’s. It is incorrect to state that students in HMO’s do not increase on street car parking, regardless of whether there are dedicated bicycle storage many students do and will choose to own and use their own. Thus number of cars held at a 6 bedroom student hmo is often greater then there would be if it remained a 3 bedroom family property occupied by a guardian/s and 2 children.,