There are currently only four HMOs on the entire length of the Falls Road
A HMO application for a house in West Belfast has been rejected, despite meeting the criteria and threshold for the area.
The application was unanimously refused by elected representatives at the August meeting of the Belfast City Council Planning Committee.
The proposal, for 432 Falls Road, involved the change of use of a seven bedroom dwelling house to a seven bed/nine person House of Multiple Occupancy.
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Houses of Multiple Occupation, also known as a “house-share” residencies, which landlords lease out to three or more tenants from different addresses, have become increasingly controversial, with some arguing they have negatively affected communities and led to anti-social behaviour, in places like the Holylands and Stranmillis in South Belfast, where landlords pack houses with undergraduates and others.
Applications for new HMO licences have increased in other parts of the city in recent years. A series of applications have been refused across the city, but many applicants are successfully appealing the decisions via the Planning Appeals Commission.
HMO licence renewal cannot be refused on the basis of overprovision of such properties in an area, but new licences can be refused on this basis.
While the council policy is that HMO’s should not account for more than 20 percent of any area of housing management, in reality many streets exceed this, with some in the Holylands reaching over 90 percent. Outside housing policy areas, as in the Falls, the threshold is 10 percent. There are currently only four HMOs on the entire length of the Falls Road.
Also during the August meeting at City Hall a HMO application in the Rosetta area of East Belfast was rejected after the council received 129 local objections. The last HMO application to be refused by Belfast Council before that was in the Market area of Belfast, earlier this summer, after City Hall received nearly 300 local objections.
Regarding the Falls Road application, council officers recommended that planning permission was granted, subject to conditions. None of the statutory consultees objected to the application.
The council officer planning report stated: “The scheme is compliant with policy in that the 10 percent threshold for HMOs on Falls Road has not yet been reached. Officers consider that the proposal will not be harmful in terms of traffic, parking, impact on residential amenity or the amenity of the surrounding area.”
It adds: “The proposed development will not result in any external alterations to the property, ensuring that its appearance remains unchanged. Additionally, there are no internal modifications that would alter the existing room configuration, meaning there will be no intensification of the property layout. As a result, it is expected that the proposal will have no adverse impact on the appearance or character of the surrounding area.
“The proposal will not create conflict with the character of the Falls Road and the overall character of the area will be maintained. The proposal is therefore considered to comply with policy.”
The council received seven objections regarding the application, focusing on concerns about “amenity,” lack of parking, waste disposal and antisocial behaviour.
Sinn Féin councillor Arder Carson successfully proposed the Planning Committee refuse the application.
He said at the meeting: “There isn’t adequate parking provision in and around that property. I know there was a parking survey done in October that was submitted, and seems to have been agreed and approved, but lived experience would very much contradict that, by myself, and by residents who live in Clondara Street and Hugo Street.
“Within the 150 metres that (the applicant) is claiming there are spaces, there is St John’s Church. Every wedding, funeral, every mass, confirmation, Holy Communion, the place is stacked up with cars.
“There is St Kevin’s Primary School, St Louise’s Secondary School, and it is on the Glider route. Falls Road is heavily restricted as we know, and there are double yellow lines on both Clondara Street and Hugo Street, which vastly reduces the amount of parking on those streets.
“For me the parking survey doesn’t stack up, compared to the experience of residents in those two streets, who will be greatly impacted if we approve this application.”
Alliance councillor Tara Brooks said: “I have a slightly different concern. It may be completely compliant. But there would be nine people, sharing two toilets. My point is, would I be happy for me, or my kids, to live there? I don’t think this would be high quality, and I would find it difficult to approve.”
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