A plan to turn a house into a six-bedroom HMO cannot progress after an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

The applicant, Amir Sofich, applied for planning permission for a site on Rawson Road in autumn of last year.

The plan to turn a house into a six-bedroom HMO by way of a two-storey extension was a follow-up application to an initial application which was blocked by Bolton Council a matter of months earlier.

There were a number of alterations but this too was blocked by Bolton Council on the basis of its impact on the character and appearance of the area and insufficient information about the kitchen diner.

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The council's ruling said: "The development would harm the character and appearance of the area. Furthermore insufficient information was submitted to assess whether the kitchen diner would be sufficient to accommodate six residents and to function as a communal cooking space and dining space. 

"The development is therefore not in accordance with the relevant policies contained within Bolton's Core Strategy and the relevant policies contained within the National Planning Policy Framework."

Mr Sofich appealed to the Planning Inspectorate but last month planning inspector Sarah Manchester came down on the side of the council.

She agreed with the council about the appearance and character of the area although she disagreed with the council about the kitchen-diner.

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Ms Manchester's ruling said: "I conclude the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the area. It would conflict with Core Strategy Policy RA1 and Places for Everyone Policy JP-P1. These require, among other things, that proposals respect the character and identity of the locality including the traditional grid-iron pattern and streetscaping. 

"It would conflict with the guidance in the House Extensions Supplementary Planning Document, adopted August 2012, including in relation to roof extensions and the need for dormers to be subordinate extensions rather than upward extensions of the elevations of the property."

In Bolton, a conversion into an HMO does not need planning permission unless it involves more than six tenants or, as is the case on Rawson Road, unless it involves other changes such as extensions.

Separately, a conversion into an HMO needs a licence if it involves more than four tenants.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.