Plans to convert a garage into an extra bedroom at a High Wycombe house of multiple occupancy (HMO) have been refused for the second time after fears that it would ‘significantly disrupt the local highway’.

The proposal to add an extra bedroom to the six-person HMO at 223 West Wycombe Road was submitted by Dominique Croft of Howarth Property back in July.

A similar application was made to Buckinghamshire Council in November 2022 – and rejected after officers found that the site’s parking provision was already “well below the six-space requirement” and that adding another tenant to the mix would “cause significant disruption to the flow of traffic (on the A40) and operation of the local highway network”.

And Ms Croft didn’t have any more luck this time, with planning officers reiterating their opposition to the plans, which were refused for the second time on Tuesday, October 1, on the same grounds. 

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Council officer Matthew McKane concluded in his report that the extension to the existing HMO would “displace (drivers) onto the public highway”, which has double yellow lines, street lighting and a pedestrian footway on the property’s side of the road.

He also highlighted criticisms made in a consultation with Buckinghamshire Highways, where team leader Matthew Harvey pointed to “discrepancies and errors” in a transport statement describing the A40 as “not an overly busy road” and suggesting that the site has four parking spaces when scale dimensions only indicate three.

The refusal was also due to the size of the new bedroom flat, which assessments suggested would not meet the requirements for private amenity space.