Lowestoft house share plans for Sizewell C staff refused by East Suffolk Council following concerns

A bid to turn a home into a house share for Sizewell C staff has been refused by planners following concerns.

Planners at East Suffolk Council have rejected plans to turn a home in London Road South, Lowestoft, into a seven-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO).

Justin Fenn, who submitted the application, said he had been approached to use the building for workers on the new Sizewell C project.

Mr Fenn added the building had already been used as an HMO for many years, and the application was simply meant to keep its existing use.

However, planners pointed out there was no record of the home being given permission to be used as an HMO, meaning there was no evidence the home could be lawfully used as one.

The application received nine objections from eight neighbours, who said approving the bid would only add to problems around parking and a high number of other HMOs in the area.

A letter of support was received arguing it would be a good way of bringing people to the town.

Planning officers agreed with the concerns, however, and said approval would be detrimental to highway safety and would 'contribute to an unbalanced community'.

The council's private sector housing team pointed out the plans did not include enough bathroom and kitchen facilities for HMOs of between six to 10 people.

Planning officers decided to refuse the application under delegated powers yesterday.