HMO Planning – A Load of Sewage?
Members will know that the PDPLA and councillors on the Planning Committee have sometimes disagreed. Well, good news this month as the Planning Inspectorate highlight the fact that Southern Water have a responsibility to handle sewage and a 7-bed HMO in Copnor will not risk overloading the system.
What Was The Case?
This was a 2023 application for a 5-bed property in St Chads Avenue in Portsmouth to be converted into a 7-bed HMO.In August last year it was refused on the grounds that "It is not considered that there is adequate capacity available for drainage resulting from the proposed occupation of the site" and "The proposed development would result in a significant effect on the Solent Special Protection Areas, through additional recreational pressures and nitrates".
The agent, Applecore, appealed the decision and the Planning Inspectorate ruled in favour of Applecore and awarded costs against PCC.The award of costs is important as it signifies that PCC knowingly acted wrongly as opposed to just misinterpreting the rules.
The Planning Inspectorate stated, "The Council's statement of case confirms that the first reason for refusal specifically relates to concern that the proposal would result in an increase in localised flooding due to inadequate existing sewer capacity to accommodate the proposed HMO occupation of the appeal site, and insufficient information to demonstrate that additional capacity would be provided prior to the occupation of the appeal scheme." He went on to outline that PCC's decision was based on unsubstantiated and anecdotal third party comments and that, "Moreover, the existing dwellinghouse, as enlarged to a potential 5-bedroom dwelling by means of the Permitted Development alterations and extensions which, I saw during my site visit, are currently in the process of being undertaken, would be capable of accommodating the same number of occupants as the 7-person appeal scheme HMO, or possibly more, since the maximum number of occupiers of the existing dwelling is not restricted. In contrast, the appeal scheme would be limited to a maximum of 7 persons. As such, I find that there is no cogent evidence before me that the occupancy of the appeal scheme would result in an increased load upon the existing sewer system such that it would negatively impact upon its existing capacity." And adds "I am mindful that the construction, operation and maintenance of an adopted sewerage system is the responsibility of the statutory sewerage undertaker, in this case, Southern Water, and the sewerage undertaker has a legal duty under S94 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (the WIA) to provide an effective system of sewers in its area. These sewers become public sewers to which the owners/occupiers of premises, and the owners of private sewers, have a right to connect and thereby drain foul water regardless of any capacity issues."
He concluded, "For the above reasons, I therefore conclude that there is no clear evidence before me that there is inadequate capacity for the foul drainage that would result from the proposal, such that the proposal would result in local surface water flooding. As such, the proposal accords with Policy PCS12 of the Portsmouth Plan (2012) (the PP), in so much as this policy seeks to control flood risk, by amongst other things, ensuring necessary foul drainage capacity is available."
To be fair, over recent months since the furore over the use of the term Kristallnacht and the associated events, planning applications for HMOs appear to have been dealt with inline with PCC's policies and rules and some of the bizarre discussions we have heard before, such as which way round a bed should be when shown on the plan, whether macerator toilets should be allowed and if a washing machine should abut a wall of a sleeping room appear to be history. The last few meetings have been a joy, the independent councillors who have sworn never to support an HMO seem to have chosen to abstain on all applications and everyone else seems to be applying the rules the way they were intended.For that, we can only say thank you and long may it continue.