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A plan to convert a shop into a HMO has been blocked by a council after it was revealed the ‘cramped’ rooms did not even provide enough space for couples to eat together. Sandwell Council has rejected an application to convert the shop in Hagley Road , Smethwick , on the border of the Black Country and Birmingham , into a house of multiple occupation (HMO) for up to 14 people. The local authority’s planners threw out the plans by WeStruct Consulting Engineers saying the proposed living space in the building would be “inadequate” and shared areas were “substandard.” Read more: Work begins on £20 million social housing development in Tipton A report outlining the objection said: “As twin occupancy rooms, the internal space of each room would be cramped with no adequate living area to compensate, especially considering the maximum occupancy for the HMO could be as high as 14 people. “It would be unlikely that two people could comfortably eat meals in the bedrooms and there is insufficient space for quality leisure and mealtimes in the proposed communal area. “The internal space is unnecessarily over intensive and unacceptable in respect of design policy.” Read more: Empty depot next to M5 to become 24-hour storage facility after plans approved Read more: Historic Smethwick site could finally be demolished for homes Read more: 'Vandal hotspot' empty pub could be demolished for new homes after complaints The plans had also faced criticism for ‘splitting up’ the rows of shops in Hagley Road and for the potential to add to parking troubles. However, the council did not object to the plans over the shortfall in parking given the existing shortage. “The proposals would involve the loss of a ground floor retail unit which currently forms part of a continuous parade of ground floor retail and commercial units along the busy Hagley Road,” the council’s report continued. “The proposals involve changes to the front elevation to facilitate the residential use which would visibly break up the continuous parade of retail frontages and be detrimental to the visual appearance and character of the parade and the retail function of the town centre “The internal arrangement proposes inadequate living space and shared areas for occupants which would result in a substandard living environment.” Follow all the latest politics news from across the region with our weekly Politics newsletter. You can sign up here.
