Latest application for student accommodation on rear garden of 47 Union Road, REFUSED, with the adverse impact on community balance recognised
Following his lost appeal against the refusal of an application for a 10 bed student block in the rear garden of his Union Road property, a 13 bed student HMO (advertised with double occupancy possible in all but one room) above a self-contained 2 bed basement flat also advertised for students, Mr Startup, the owner, submitted plans (23/1483/FUL) last December for a 6 bed student block on the same site (see our previous article here).
Local residents, including many Trust members, who submitted objections will be relieved and delighted that this application has been refused. The Planning Officer’s Report, which reveals appropriate consideration has been given on this occasion to the consultation responses including that submitted by the Trust, provides a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the proposal against national and local policies, and concludes that it is contrary to a wide range of specific policies, including four Neighbourhood Plan (NP) policies relating to environmental matters, design and community (see Decision Refusal Notice here).
Each of these are equally important, but it is particularly encouraging that, on this occasion, community balance has been recognised by the Planning Authority as a valid issue and the refusal decision, citing NP Community policy C3 ‘Small Scale Purpose Built Student Accommodation’ includes the statement:
By virtue of the intensity of use, the overdevelopment of the plot and the location of the development, the scheme would prejudice the objective of creating a balanced community in St James, Exeter
Time will tell whether the owner decides to accept this decision, or to submit an appeal as he did following refusal of his original application on the site, and which he has now done in the case of 70 Pennsylvania Road, another HMO property that he owns, where his similar proposal to develop the rear garden as purpose built student accommodation was also refused (see here).
