A proposal has been put to transform a home into a four person “house of multiple occupancy.”

The plan, put before Bolton Council just last week, will see the house on Gregory Avenue in Breightmet transformed into a four-bedroom home to be shared by multiple people.

Similar proposals for HMOs have been lodged elsewhere across the borough in recent months but have often proven to be controversial.

Cllr Sean Fielding, who represents the area on Bolton Council, said: “Debates about HMOs sometimes get very emotive over the perception of who the occupiers might be when they’re converted.

“Having lived in one for a period myself when working away at Sellafield I do think this is sometimes misplaced and also distracts from the legitimate planning grounds we can justify objections with.

The Bolton News: The house will be converted for four people according to the plansThe house will be converted for four people according to the plans (Image: Walker Design)

“My main concern with HMOs is that they often cluster in particular areas and are conversions of larger family homes, something which many parts of Bolton, including Breightmet, don’t have an awful lot of to begin with.”

Similar proposals for HMOs across Bolton have been rejected in several cases, including in the case of a proposal for a seven person HMO on Lower Rawson Street, Farnworth which was thrown out earlier this year.

But in the case of the Gregory Avenue proposal, Bolton Council’s highways department has already looked at the proposal and given their views and how it is likely to affect roads and parking in the area.

A statement said: “From experience HMO occupation normally lends itself to a demographic with low car ownership.

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“This location is reasonably accessible to sustainable modes of transportation and the surrounding amenities which would provide an additional justification to support the change of use from a transport/highways perspective.

“Although there is no off-road parking provision associated with the property, any potential overspill onto the surrounding highways taking into consideration its sustainability should be accommodated with little additional detriment/severity to road safety and residential amenity at that location.

“On this basis, no reasonable objections on highway grounds to what is being proposed under this application.”

A determination deadline has been set for Monday August 25 this year for the plan.