Sunderland: Fears St Michael's is becoming bedsit land as HMO extension approved despite backlash

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting this week, approved an application for 5 Carlyon Street in the city’s St Michael’s ward.

An application submitted earlier this year (2025) sought permission to convert the property from an existing four-bed HMO to a six-bed HMO, along with a garage conversion and single-storey rear extension to facilitate the development.

The applicant for the scheme was listed as Rosa Smith Trading Ltd and supporting planning documents were provided by Goldline Architectural Limited.

A design and access statement submitted with the plans said the expanded HMO would have a maximum of six occupants with improved facilities, including “outdoor amenity space alongside dedicated bin areas and secure bike storage for tenants and visitors”.

Those behind the scheme said an additional two bedrooms would represent a “minor intensification” and that works to the property would “cater for the modern lifestyle with outdoor amenity space which is rare in this area, connecting living spaces [and] maximising the amount of natural light”.

Applicants also confirmed that “half of the rooms have their own ensuite, meaning only three tenants will share the communal bathroom and additional WC”.

On parking matters, it was noted that the HMO proposal “does not include dedicated car parking spaces but does include seven secure bike spaces (including for potential visitors)”, as well as benefiting from a location with “excellent access to public transport, services, and amenities.”

During a council consultation exercise the plans sparked public opposition with four public objections, including from Thornholme Residents’ Association, raising a range of concerns.

The concerns, summarised in a council report, included loss of privacy, increased noise from comings and goings, increased traffic, impacts on the area’s character, the plans representing “overdevelopment” and more.

The HMO plans were presented for decision at a meeting of the council’s Planning and Highways Committee on Monday (June 30) at City Hall.

St Michael’s ward councillor Lyall Reed, who made a formal request for the application to be determined by councillors on the panel, spoke out against the plans at the meeting.

He said his arguments for objection were around highways concerns, impacts on residential amenity and impacts on the character and heritage of Ashbrooke.

The councillor said that removing the garage of the property and “shoving in an extra two beds” would worsen existing parking issues and argued the expanded HMO development would lead to increased noise and disturbance and “detract” from the “positive quality of the local area”.

Cllr Reed also said the St Michael’s ward has one of the highest numbers of HMOs (per ward) in the city and was at risk of becoming, what one resident described as, “bedsit land.”

Council planning officers, in a report to the committee, recommended the HMO plans for approval and said the “additional two bedrooms would broadly coalesce with the prevailing residential land uses in the locality”.

It was argued that the character of the residential area would “not be compromised” and that the proposal “would not result in an increase in HMOs in the locality” but would instead, “simply intensify the existing residential accommodation”.

Council planning officers also said proposed works would “have no impact on the character, appearance, and contribution of Ashbrooke Conservation Area” and that the plan was a “minor intensification” in the HMO use and “unlikely to give rise to any significant additional issues” around noise and disturbance.

On highways matters, it was noted that the HMO site sits with a community parking management scheme area, or ‘permit parking’ area.

A council committee report said “there is no evidence to suggest that a proposal of this nature with no in-curtilage parking would result in indiscriminate parking on the highway that would create a severe impact on the safe operation of the highway network”.

In addition, there was no objection from Northumbria Police and council planners noted there was “no evidence to suggest that a proposal of this nature would give rise to any unacceptable concerns in relation to crime and anti-social behaviour.”

Councillor Michael Dixon, a Planning and Highways Committee member and St Michael’s ward councillor, said he still had concerns about the highways impacts of the expanded HMO.

He told the meeting that he “didn’t accept” a council statement that the level of parking associated with a HMO is unlikely to exceed that of a standard dwelling, and noted the proposed development in Carlyon Street would bring more visitors to a “very congested area”.

“This is one of the earliest community parking management schemes […] and I think it’s one of the last places where we should be considering increasing additional parking, especially bearing in mind the proposed development over the road of more than 200 houses on the old civic centre site,” he added.

After being put to the vote, the planning application was passed by a narrow majority with four councillors voting in favour of the plans, and three councillors voting against.

For more information on the plan and council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00744/FUL