Plans to turn a family home on Church Street, Westhoughton, into a six-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) have sparked concern among town councillors, who say the proposal would put pressure on parking and create overcrowded living conditions.
The retrospective application seeks permission to convert a former three-bedroom home into six individual bedrooms with shared facilities, including the loss of a garage to create an extra habitable room. Councillors said the change would increase parking problems on surrounding streets and reduce living standards for both residents and neighbours.
Westhoughton councillor David Wilkinson told a town council meeting: "The point is that I think the various issues are, one, loss of the garage, going from a normal family house with a car parking space at the rear to six people and no off-road parking provision at all. That means anybody who does park will be parking in the side entry or a little bit at the back, which is already tight, and that’ll just push more cars out onto Church Street.
"In terms of the actual space for at least six people, there’s only a small communal yard at the back — that’s going to have bins and bike spaces — and I believe the amount of available communal space falls significantly short of what’s required. I also think there’ll be additional problems for neighbours on either side, because it’s a terraced property going from family use to a house in multiple occupation."