PLANS to convert a dental surgery to a seven-bedroom house were refused by councillors yesterday.

If approved, the seven-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) would have housed up to ten residents.

A total of 50 people attended a meeting at the nearby Sughra Mosque to raise their concerns about the proposal.

Yesterday, Cllr Paul Sanders expressed concerns about safeguarding the children attending the mosque given a trend of anti-social behaviour associated with existing HMOs in the area.

Carol Puchorias, speaking on behalf of the Friends of Moses Gate group, asked the planning committee to vote against the plans.

The resident said: “We are a small run-down area that’s been neglected for many years. We have numerous problems in our corner of Farnworth and another HMO is another thing local residents feel will not be beneficial to our area.”

The application was determined by the planning committee at the request of Farnworth councillors Jean Gillies and Maureen Flitcroft.

A total of 29 objections were made by neighbouring properties and one petition was received, raising concerns about parking, overdevelopment and anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Gillies urged the committee to vote against the new application given the precedent set by refusing similar applications.

She said: “I do think Farnworth has had its fair share of this kind of application and we do seem to not be seeing these popping up in any other areas.”

Cllr Flitcroft added: “The development will not enhance the area and property values in the area will reduce. This development will not contribute to good urban design.”

The application was refused unanimously by the planning committee.