A student housing company can convert a Brighton family home into a shared house despite opposition from dozens of neighbours.
Developer Rivers Birtwell has been given permission to turn 54 Auckland Drive into a six-bedroom small house in multiple occupation after Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee nodded through the application without debate today (Wednesday 3 December).
There were 26 objections from neighbours and one from Moulsecoomb and Bevendean ward councillor Jacob Taylor.
Councillor Taylor, who is also the council’s deputy leader, asked the committee to reject the application stating “The house is well placed as a family home and we need to retain these in the area.”
The wider community raised concerns about fewer families in the area resulting in falling pupil numbers at the area’s primary schools.
There were also concerns about the impact of another student HMO in the area which already has a significant student population.
However, the report to the committee said that there were 14 properties within 50 metres of the proposed shared house, and none were HMOs.
Fewer than 20 per cent of houses in the wider neighbourhood area were HMOs, no houses would end up “sandwiched” between two shared houses nor would there be three HMOs with a continuous frontage – which means the application complies with council policy.
Immediate neighbour Candice Underwood was frustrated she could not attend the council meeting to speak during working hours.
She said: “I am devastated by the granting of this license without debate.
“Having read the recommendations there were several things that were unfounded (such as stating parking wasn’t an issue because there were no permits or that Mouslecoomb Station was close) and some that simply did not work for a garden estate like Bevendean (like the closeness of the next HMO).
“There are in fact several HMOs very close but because of the road it takes the distance to just slightly over so I urge the council to rethink this policy and make necessary changes to protect our communities and these much needed family homes.
“Overall this will certainly have a detrimental affect on myself, my community and all of my neighbours, who worked really hard to object this. It’s such a shame.”
All the while the clowncil prioritise student accommodation the harder they will fall. Universities are not the be all and end all of the local economy.
If there are no families able to afford to.live here this city is screwed.
That’s not what happened here. Planning policy sets objective tests, and this application met all of them. If the committee had rejected it, the developer would almost certainly win on appeal. If an area hasn’t crossed the saturation limits, the council can’t just block an application because it feels like the wrong time or the wrong part of the city.
Brighton absolutely needs more family homes; and to do that we need start at being better at understanding what can and cannot be done.