It must be election time

All I can say is that I am glad I manage very few HMOs having had occasion to watch one of this months planning meetings online. 

What Didn't I Miss?

There was a lovely discussion about the rear ground floor bedroom of one property not having enough light and the application was deferred to ask for a bigger window. Then they subsequently approved 3 more applications which I am told had the exact same windows. It really doesn't make much sense at all.  

Then there was a property that was refused, a 7-bed HMO I think, because of the sewage impact.  I hate to ask the source of the evidence which suggests HMO tenants poop more than others - maybe we are moving towards tenancy contracts which stipulate 'time of day' usage of the facilities to ensure a steady and manageable flow - though am not sure how you enforce that, time activated locks on the facilities perhaps? I have suggested to a developer friend that his next development needs automated sewage staging  (ASS) comprising a holding tank for the output from all of the en suites and a timed release mechanism to ensure that either the output is trickle fed into the system or held until say 4am when few others are using the system and then pumped into the main sewer - that ought to overcome planning concerns.

And so much of the discussion seemed to be more about showing the individual councillors standing up for their constituents than determining whether applications met the rules or not - I was told the meetings are much more political at this time of year but you have to wonder, wouldn't the time be better spent ensuring that applications progress through the system swiftly where they meet all of the stipulated criteria in order to provide homes for those who need them.