Six-person HMO conversion at 48 Welton Road, Plumstead, London SE18

What was proposed

The application sought a six-person HMO, a rear extension, a hip-to-gable loft conversion with rear dormer, and refuse and cycle storage.

“That Full Planning Permission be GRANTED for the “Change of use of the existing dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to a six-bedroom small HMO with a maximum capacity of six persons (Use Class C4), together with the erection of a 3-metre single-storey rear extension and the construction of a hip to gable loft conversion with rear dormer extension, including provision for refuse and cycle storage”.”

Officer report

Site and application history

The property is an existing dwellinghouse, and the application was deferred so a daytime parking survey could be prepared.

“ADDENDUM This Addendum Report is to reflect the submitted Car Parking Survey provided by the application following the 7 th April 2026 Local Planning Committee meeting whereby Members deferred the item to allow for a new Car Parking Survey to be prepared. The original Car Parking Survey was not considered sufficient by members given it was prepared during nighttime hours when the adjacent Willow Dene School was not in operation.”

“It was considered necessary to re-consult all neighbours and all those who had commented as part of the original consultation to allow further representations to be made in response to the submission of a new Car Parking Survey. The addendum includes a summary of the additional consultation responses received following the re-consultation of all neighbours and councillors as well as an assessment of the results contained within the newly submitted Car Parking Survey.”

Officer report

Ownership certificate corrected

The ownership certificate was amended from Certificate A to Certificate B and served on the correct owner for at least 21 days.

“Following the deferral on the 7 th April 2026 it was found that the incorrect ownership certificate had been served and that Certificate B rather A should have been served given the applicant was not the owner of the property. This has since been amended and the correct certificate has been served on the correct owner of the property for the requisite period of at least 21 days.”

Officer report

Who spoke

The ward councillor spoke against the proposal, residents raised objections, and the applicant’s agent defended the parking survey and parking provision.

Members’ discussion

Officers said permitted development rights, the site’s surroundings and the revised survey made the extensions, parking and neighbour impacts acceptable.

“ITEM NO: 4 rights. This meant that the loft conversion could be built without planning permission, and as noted earlier, appeal decisions had established that this must be considered when assessing applications. Although the rear dormer loft conversion did not comply with the Council's Urban Design Guide, officers considered it acceptable because it could be constructed under permitted development rights.”

“The concerns raised about vehicles blocking driveways, would be appear that these problems were largely related to activities associated with the nearby school rather than the proposed development itself. A daylight and sunlight assessment was not considered necessary as due to the position of the extension, its orientation relative to neighbouring properties, and the path of the sun.”

Minutes

How members voted

Members rejected a refusal motion based on parking issues by three votes to six, then approved the application by six votes to three.

“A Member put forward a refusal motion on the basis on the noted parking issues. The Motion was seconded and the Chair put the motion to the vote and with…”

“The Chair put the substantive Approval Motion to the vote and with…”

Minutes

The committee’s decision

Full planning permission was granted for the HMO, extensions and storage, subject to conditions and possible minor wording changes.

“To authorise the Assistant Director (Planning & Building Control) to make any minor change to the detailed wording of the recommended conditions, as set out in Appendix 2 of the main report, its addendum and the minutes of the Local Planning Committee meeting, where the Assistant Director (Planning and Building Control) considers it appropriate, before issuing the final notice.”

Minutes