Three Dagenham HMO plans refused by Barking and Dagenham Council

Barking and Dagenham Council’s planning department has declined all three applications, each unrelated, since August 26.

The first proposal to be refused planning permission was submitted by Manazar Afzal and was a retrospective application.

He proposed the regularisation and extension of the use of the existing property at 85 Warley Avenue to house up to 12 occupants across eight rooms.

85 Warley Avenue(Image: Google)

The planning department said the proposal would result in the “loss of this unit as a single family home” and was therefore contrary to local policies looking to safeguard family housing, which remains in “demonstrable need across the borough”.

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The department also said a lack of evidence was submitted to demonstrate that the proposed HMO would address any local housing needs.

On the same day, another proposal was refused for the change of use of a regular house at 34 Boulton Road to an HMO for four people.

34 Boulton Road(Image: Google)

One planning document said an HMO would be beneficial as it would provide a “different housing type giving variety for residents of the borough”.

Similarly to the refusal for the HMO in Warley Avenue, the council’s planning department deemed the proposal to involve the loss of a family home.

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The officer report also noted the proposal offered “poor access to public transport”.

The application failed to provide sufficient evidence to show that it would not lead to “unacceptable parking stress and congestion” and therefore was considered “unacceptable from a highways perspective”.

79 Halbutt Street(Image: Google)

The third refusal was for the lawful development certificate for the existing use of a house for up to 10 occupants at 79 Halbutt Street.

The application was submitted by Bruce O’Brien of Emery Planning on behalf of applicant Ahmet Kuka.

The property has been used as an HMO since 2008 and a certificate was “sought to confirm that the property can continue to be lawfully occupied by eight separate households constituting 10 persons”.

The council refused to issue the certificate of lawful development over a lack of evidence of proper use.

The officer report said: “Despite some indications that the property has been occupied by different tenants at various points in time, the evidence provided is minimal, sporadic, and insufficient to establish continuous HMO use over the required period.”