Landlord wins appeal to convert Durham home into student accommodation

A LANDLORD has been given permission to turn a property into a house of multiple occupation (HMO) after winning a planning appeal.Applicant Robin Durie had originally been refused planning permission by Durham County Council to turn the house in Mistletoe Street, Durham, into a HMO because it was in breach of the authority’s interim planning policy, which is aimed at stopping the spread of student housing.However, that decision was reversed by planning inspector Graeme Robbie who said the street was already heavily skewed towards student properties.When Durham County Council refused the application in January, it said 58.9 per cent of properties within 100m of the site were HMO –above the interim planning policy’s threshold of 10 per cent.But following the appeal, and a Freedom of Information request by Mr Durie, Mr Robbie said the figure could be as high as 78.9 per cent.In Mr Durie’s appeal he criticised the council’s “flawed” policy and expressed frustration at trying to ascertain figures.It is the second time this month there has been disagreement over how many student properties there are in an area.An application to convert Corner House, in Potter’s Bank, into an HMO was approved by councillors after a dispute over how many student properties were nearby.The City of Durham Parish Council is looking into the matter and is planning to carry out its own survey of HMOs.