Charter Avenue, Coventry

Stansgate submitted a planning application to Coventry City Council to increase the size of the HMO to 7-bedrooms (requiring a change of use from C4 to sui generis) and the proposals sought to convert an existing detached outbuilding within the rear garden area for bedroom accommodation. The initial application was met with objection from the Council due to the bedrooms being situated in a detached outbuilding, this being considered unacceptable given that there would be no direct access to shared communal and kitchen facilities which were located in the main house.

In order to overcome this objection, Stansgate were able to demonstrate that internal works to the existing outbuilding did not require formal planning consent and therefore the client could lawfully convert the outbuilding into bedroom accommodation to be used in association with the existing licensed HMO in any event. Whilst the lawfulness of these works had been demonstrated, a change of use was still required to increase the number of bedrooms which prompted the change of use of the building from C4 to sui generis. As such, once the lawfulness of the works to the outbuilding had been accepted by the Council, a further planning application was submitted to, and approved by, the Council confirming that the works to increase the number of bedrooms and to utilise the outbuilding as bedrooms could take place.