Peterborough City Council planners have approved an application to turn a property into a seven-person House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in Eastfield.

The site is a two-storey terraced house located at number 9 Padholme Road.

Applicant, Paresh Pithiya, sought to change the use of the property into a six-bedroom HMO, with the addition of a dormer and bin and bike storage facilities.

Mr Pithiya’s previous application for a nine-person HMO was refused due to lack of parking provision, but the latest application approved on June 23 provided four off-street parking spaces to the rear of the property.

placeholder image — The property in Padholme Road

In addition, a parking survey was submitted to demonstrate the further two spaces required could be accommodated on the street.

Some local residents raised concerns about noise and that there were “too many” HMOs in the area.

However, the case officer’s report stated that the site already had a certificate of lawful use (proposed) for a six-person HMO.

“Therefore, the increase of one person above this fallback position it is not considered to significantly increase the levels of noise and disturbance to neighbouring properties to an unacceptable degree,” it added.

Each room in the property has a small kitchenette, but planners decided these would not provide all the necessary facilities for independent living, such as laundry and full cooking amenities.

As a result, the development was classified as an HMO rather than as self-contained individual flats.

An HMO is defined as a property occupied by more than one household, meaning the residents are not all members of the same family or living together as a single household.

They typically involve shared facilities like kitchens, bathrooms, or living areas.