The council has turned down an application to convert a property in Ulverston into a seven -bedroom House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) due to concerns the accommodation would not provide ‘acceptable living conditions’.

Members of South Lakeland local area planning committee rejected proposals from A and A Property to transform the terraced house on Devonshire Road into a HMO.

Councillor Vicky Hughes (Burton and Holme, Lib Dems), said: “I feel we need to be mindful of what we’re accepting in saying this is okay for our residents to live in.

“If this was a dwelling house with a family in, yes it would have those restraints, but it would also have a living room and they would live as a community and a family as opposed to seven possibly 14 individuals if you put double bedrooms in there, sharing one space and only one communal area.”

A report prepared for the committee states: “The proposal would not provide acceptable living conditions for future occupants. This brings the application into conflict with the development plan.

“Whilst it is accepted the application property could change use to six-bedroom HMO without planning permission, this would still have a less harmful impact than the proposal. Any benefits associated with the proposal would not outweigh the harm identified.”

Councillor Helen Chaffey (Kent Estuary, Lib Dems), spoke of the small difference between six and seven rooms and stated: “Accommodation is at such a premium.

“If officers came to me and said we’re really concerned that the individual units are too cramped or they break the rules in terms of national standards then I wouldn’t feel happy, but that isn’t the case, we’re talking about outlook.”

In the report planning officers state two of the bedrooms would have a 'extremely poor outlook' and three of the bedrooms would receive limited sunlight. It says one of the bedrooms which has a roof light would not provide a view of the ground which 'will create a sense of detachment from the outside world.'

Planning officers added the proposed communal kitchen would have limited daylight and 'extremely poor outlook'.

On the communal kitchen, the report states: “For those bedrooms that are deficient in respect of outlook, sunlight and daylight, it would compound and exacerbate the poor living conditions that they would experience in their private bedrooms.”

However planning officers say all the rooms have an 'acceptable amounts of internal area' and three of the bedrooms provide 'acceptable living conditions'.

Members of South Lakeland local area planning committee voted four to two in favour of rejecting the planning application with one abstention.