A former accountant’s office in Swinton is to be converted into a nine-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO), despite objections from three neighbours. The planning application for a large semi-detached two-storey building in Chorley Road Swinton will also get a new roof, windows, cycle storage and a boundary fence. It has been approved by Salford city council planning officers under delegated powers. The applicant is Timothy Witt, a director of Leeds-based firm Witby Investments Ltd. A report on the Salford city council planning portal says the accommodation will be provided on three levels with two bedrooms, and a combined living/dining/kitchen area on the ground, four bedrooms on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor. However, officers listed a range of objections from three nearby residents which cited an increase in traffic which would restrict access for other vehicles and the taking out and bringing in of refuse bins; that the area is already ‘saturated’ with HMOs; an increase in noise and disturbance and anti-social behaviour, loss of privacy and more waste and litter resulting in [potential] vermin infestation. The site is described as being on the edge of Swinton town centre in a ‘well-established mixed-use area’. Planning officers said that the currently vacant property could potentially be used for retail use but go on to report: “It is reasonable to conclude that there is no current demand for retail use of the property, as Swinton town centre is about 100 metres from the applicant site and has a number of vacant retail units. “The local planning authority thinks that sufficient retail and other offerings would remain for the residents in the immediate area and that the loss of this commercial property is acceptable and the change of use to an HMO is appropriate.” Meanwhile, under the same delegated powers, Salford’s planning team has refused permission for the conversion of a six-bedroom home into a nine-bed HMO in the city. The application was for a home on Barrfield Road and included the construction of a rear dormer. A notice of refusal said: “The proposal would result in cumulative unacceptable harm to the positive residential character of the surrounding neighbourhood due to an overconcentration of HMOs on the sourthern side of Barrfield Road.”
