6-bed HMO conversion at 12 Surrey Street, Jarrow

The proposed HMO conversion

Change of use from a dwelling to a six-bedroom house in multiple occupation.

“Applicants: [name withheld]: Change of use from Class C3 Dwelling House to Class C4 Six-Bedroom house in multiple occupation…”

Minutes

A site visit before the meeting

A site visit was carried out beforehand to view the site and consider the objections raised.

“A Site visit was conducted on the 22 nd May 2026. The site visit was carried out with the prior approval of the Chair. The need for the site visit in advance was to view the site and consider the objections to the proposals.”

Minutes

Objections received

An online petition attracted 483 objections, and a councillor lodged a late objection citing residential impact and cumulative harm.

“The Planning officer delivered a presentation to the committee outlining the contents of the report. They noted that the online petition had 483 objections as of today. They also noted Councillor Jones had lodged an objection after the deadline, citing residential impact, local amenity, cumulative impact and risk of ASB in the area.”

Minutes

Who spoke against the scheme

A councillor and two long-standing residents objected, raising parking on double yellow lines, noise, safety and harm to a quiet, settled street.

Members' discussion

Members raised the change to the area's character, unregistered HMOs nearby, and the property's planning history of a previously rejected larger scheme.

“Members noted that article 4 and the voices of the residents couldn’t be ignored and that an HMO would mean a significant change to the character of the area. They also raised concerns about the number of unregistered HMOs in the area.”

“A member noted their concerns echoing what had previously been raised, as well as the planning history of the property where the developer had attempted to apply for an 8 bed HMO which was rejected, they noted that while the number of bedrooms had been decreased, the general concerns remained for the area.”

Minutes

The vote

The application was proposed for refusal and the committee voted unanimously to reject it.

“The application was proposed to be refused by Cllr Owens-Palmer and seconded by Cllr P Ford. A vote was carried unanimously to reject the application for the following reasons:”

Minutes

The reasons for refusal

Refusal was based on harm to the area's character and amenity, and on unacceptable pressure on already heavily used on-street parking.

“The Local Planning Authority considers that the proposed change of use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) within an immediate locality that comprises predominantly single family dwellings would, as a consequence of the increased intensity of residential use and the associated increase in comings and goings that would arise, adversely impact on the character of the area and upon the amenity of existing nearby occupiers.”

“The Local Planning Authority considers that the proposed change of use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) would, as a consequence of the increased intensity of residential use arising have an unacceptable impact in terms of car parking and associated residential amenity and highway safety given the increased pressure that would be placed upon on-street car parking in a locality where there is already heavy demand for such car parking, the increased likelihood of…”

Minutes