Bolton: Poseidon's chippy up for conversion into an HMO

The applicant, Sarah Barker-Smith, applied for planning permission for the site of Poseidon's Fish & Chips.

The St George's Road chippy, close to the junction of Chorley New Road and Chorley Old Road, appears to be shut since some time last year in spite of rave reviews on Google and TripAdvisor where it has a rating of four and a half stars out of five stars.

Now it is up for a conversion into an HMO with five bedrooms, a kitchen area and a living area, after the approval of an application to Bolton Council which was opposed by Richard Silvester, a councillor for the area, on the basis of a lack of amenity space.

(Image: Poseidon's)

A report said: "The proposal meets the minimum space standards for bedrooms and kitchen areas / living areas as set out in the council's HMO guidance. It is in line with the minimum space standards for larger houses as set out in the Nationally Described Space Standards. On this basis it is considered that the proposal will afford residents with an adequate level of amenity.

"A small, shared outdoor area will be retained at the rear of the property. This is below the minimum standard of 50sqm, however, taking into account the fact the room sizes are on the whole larger than that which is required by the council's HMO guidance and the proximity of the property to Queens Park it is considered that this shortfall will not have an undue impact on amenity."

In Bolton, a conversion into an HMO is in need of planning permission from the council if it involves more than six tenants or if it involves other changes such as a change of use or an extension. Separately, a conversion into an HMO is in need of a licence from the council if it involves more than four tenants.

For information go to bolton.gov.uk/private-rented-owner-occupied-housing/houses-multiple-occupation-hmos/.

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