Chesterfield planners have agreed to the conversion of a former children’s care home into a shared accommodation house with 14 bedrooms despite concerns about parking, noise and over-development.
The Chesterfield Borough Council planning committee recently approved Dovedale Property Ltd’s application to change the former Fairview House children’s home, on Sheffield Road, in Stonegravels, Chesterfield, into a 14-bedroom ‘House in Multiple Occupation’ property with an office, cycle store and 15 parking spaces.
A council spokesperson said: “Overall, the proposal for a change of use to create a larger house of multiple occupancy to the property is considered to be acceptable in accordance with the policies of the Local Plan.”
The scheme involves the conversion of a large detached, vacant Victorian villa-style listed property with a large car park which dates back to the 1850s and is set back from Sheffield Road.
It will feature 14 bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms with five on the ground floor, five on the first floor and four in the loft as well as a basement with washing machines and dryers in a utility room, a lounge, a ground floor kitchen and a dining room.
The scheme also includes an office for Dovedale Property with a kitchen and bathroom and there will also be a cycle store which will be converted from an outbuilding.
Some residents raised objections to the scheme with concerns about potential car parking and congestion problems, road safety issues, noise, over-development and the impact on the sewerage system.
Resident Glyn Pocock, of Stonegravels, argued that when Fairview House was used as a children’s care home there were half the number of residents compared with the current scheme and there was mostly a maximum of six cars in the car park or sometimes ten during meetings.
He stated: “I witnessed congestion on the narrow single track road outside my property with cars having to reverse down to the car park to allow others to enter the car park. If these plans go-ahead this chaos will increase and occur every single day.”
Mr Pocock added: “The fact is that the single track road leading up to Fairview House is not built to carry so much traffic.”
However, Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority confirmed that it has no objections to the scheme after considering access, parking and the property’s location near to the town centre as well as public transport.
Concern for vehicles entering the car park and meeting traffic leaving on a single track was not considered to be sufficient to justify a refusal, according to the highways authority, because the situation has existed previously and residents can reverse back to allow space for incoming vehicles and the entrance also has curved walls for acceptable visibility.
The council also argued that new residents would not be expected to present any different issues than the previous residents relating to noise and the sewerage system.
A council’s report into the scheme confirmed that its Environmental Health team also raised no objections and concerns from its Strategic planning team, Urban Design Officer and Conservation Officer have been addressed with more information, assessments, conditions and suitable changes.
The application was also amended from an original 15-bedroom HMO scheme with several changes being introduced with external alterations and to the layout after considering consultees.
Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee granted planning permission for the scheme this month subject to a number of conditions including restricted construction times, secure and weatherproof storage for at least 14 bicycles and the implementation of a biodiversity enhancement scheme.
