Plans for new co-living development on Peterborough car park refused

Canaveral Ltd had submitted an application for a development providing 10 bedrooms at Herlington House car park in Benyon Grove, Orton Malborne.

The plans stated that the co-living model “improves upon the standards set out for HMOs (houses of multiple occupation) to provide more desirable accommodation on flexible terms”.

Tenants would have had all bills included in their payments, with a management company in place to run and look after the property.

“This model has been successfully operated at the ground floor of Herlington House which is being managed by Cross Key Homes, providing affordable sheltered housing which is something we want to emulate here,” the application added.

However, Peterborough City Council’s planning department has refused the scheme for four reasons.

It said the two-and-a-half storey building situated in the middle of a car park “would result in a prominent and out of keeping feature situated in a remote location, in stark contrast to the established residential layout character and context of the area.

“The proposal would introduce residential design features, such as balconies and chimneys, which are not common design features found on this style of building within the immediate area.”

The council said the area suffers from high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour and that “insufficient information” had been provided to “ensure that future occupiers would not be vulnerable to such crime and anti-social behaviour”.

A further concern was whether there would be enough parking, and whether existing parking provision for Herlington House would be displaced which could lead to vehicles parking in “unsafe locations within the public highway”.

And finally, the council said the development would introduce ground floor windows “facing a car park serving a busy church, which would force future occupiers to close their curtains for the majority of the day to ensure they would be afforded a base level of privacy and amenity”.

It added: “Further, given the juxtaposition of the principal windows serving primary rooms to the church car park and its historic in and out access arrangement, future occupiers would be subject to noise and disruption from the coming and going of pedestrians and vehicles visiting this busy community hub.”

Orton Longueville Parish Council had objected to the plans being approved.