Birmingham City Council planners are set to reconsider a proposal for a nine-room bed and breakfast with a café at The Green in Kings Norton, less than a month after the planning committee voted to refuse the application. A council officer has now recommended approval, arguing there are no material considerations that would justify refusal.
The application sought a change of use for the property to create a ‘B&B facility’ with internal alterations to add bedrooms, while the ground floor café, Molly’s Café, would remain in operation. The plans had previously been rejected by the planning committee due to concerns over residential amenity and highway safety.
Concerns raised by MP and councillors
Birmingham Northfield MP Laurence Turner expressed worry about the possible impact on parking in the area. Councillor Gareth Moore said at a meeting last month: “In some ways, this could be fine and not cause any issues but I do know we do have problems with some poor quality B&B accommodation. I do share concerns with residents that if this was approved, there could be substantial disruption in the local area as a result of potentially a lot of people being crammed in as a result of the housing crisis we’re facing.”
Councillor Martin Smith, representing Kings Norton North ward, noted that residents and local businesses were concerned the development could be “used as a HMO or supported exempt accommodation type property” in the future. He acknowledged that the applicant had told him it “would not be, and never will be, used for multi-occupancy residency”. Councillor Duncan Ali also raised concerns, stating the area around The Green suffers from “parking chaos quite regularly”.
Officer finds no grounds for refusal
In a new update, a council officer addressed the issues raised in the meeting, stating that national policies say development “should only be refused on highways grounds if the adverse impact on the transport network would be severe”. The officer continued: “Given the low number of trips and vehicles associated with the proposed use, in the context of existing parking provision, it is not considered that the proposal meets this threshold of severe impact.” They added that even if parking demand is displaced onto the street, customers are “unlikely to be able to park dangerously” due to an existing Traffic Regulation Order.
Regarding residential amenity, the officer said: “It was found that as there are only limited external changes to the rear of the property, that would not be detrimental to surrounding residential properties. The ground floor front shop area would remain in existing use as a café and there was no objection from Environmental Protection with regards to the proposed introduction of a bed and breakfast to sustain a reason for refusal on grounds of adverse noise, air quality or contamination impacts.”
“Further, there are no minimum space standards for bed and breakfast rooms, nor are there any outdoor private amenity space requirements. Therefore, there are no identifiable reasons for refusal with regards to impact upon potential future occupiers.” The officer concluded: “Taking all of the above issues together, there are no material considerations that would suggest refusing the application.”
No guarantee on future use
A previous council report addressed concerns from “a number of third-parties” that the site would be used as a HMO or temporary accommodation. An officer wrote: “The applicant was approached for comment and has stated that the proposed use is intended to operate as short-stay accommodation, similar in nature to a small hotel, with structured check-in and check-out times and with active on-site management. It is noted that the proposed layout is more indicative of a bed and breakfast than temporary accommodation. In particular, the need to pass through the café to get to all first-floor rooms would not be conducive to a HMO or temporary housing use. No evidence has been submitted to contradict the applicant’s version of events.”
They added that a further planning application would be required to change the site’s use to a HMO or temporary accommodation. Councillor Martin Brooks, chair of the planning committee, said last month: “No guarantee can be made on any building as to what the future use of something might be. As a planning committee, we can only consider the application that’s before us.”
The report also addressed parking, noting the proposed use would require five spaces while four are illustrated on the submitted plans. “Even if parking demand is displaced onto the street, customers are unlikely to park illegally due to the length of overnight parking stay,” it said. “It is noted that check-in time would be from 3pm, after which parking pressure on The Green eases with the closure of daytime businesses. Check out will be at 10am, ensuring any limited overlap in parking demand would be short-lived and manageable.”
The officer recommended approval ahead of the planning committee meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 10, and provided a reason for refusal if the committee disagrees with the officer’s points.
