An application to create a seven-bed HMO in a suburban street has been refused planning permission - against the advice of planning officers.

Members of Maidstone council’s planning committee rejected a bid from Geraldine Nkini Ndzi to convert a five-bedroom detached family bungalow at the end of Castle Dene in Ringlestone into a seven-bedroom home in multiple occupation (HMO).

The proposal would have required raising the roof height and converting an existing garage into living accommodation, but it was the effect on parking that worried both neighbours and councillors.

Castle Dene resident Patricia Wright said that the extra vehicles associated with seven adults living at the property - along with their visitors and deliveries - would add to the unsafe and illegal parking existing on the road, which was already spilling over into the private roads of Moorings Reach and Castle View.

She said there was already a problem with cars parked on pavements, opposite junctions, on double yellow lines and blocking people’s drives.

Parked vehicles effectively reduced the road to a single-carriageway, she said.

The application had been called in by the ward councillor, Mike Thompson (Lib Dem), who challenged the planning officer’s view that it was a sustainable location close to Maidstone town centre.

He said: “It is a 30-minute walk into town and you have to cross over the Ringlestone Footbridge - not something I would recommend for the faint-hearted or the elderly.”

Cllr Maureen Cleator (Lab) was concerned that access to Castle Dene was via Gibraltar Lane which joined the Royal Engineers Road, the busy A229, at traffic lights close to the Esso garage. She said: “There are frequent accidents at the lights - some have been fatal.”

Cllr Ziggy Trzebinski (Con) described the application as “the thin edge of the wedge” and predicted that whereas this application represented the first HMO in the Castle Dene area, if it were approved, then within 10 years the nature of the whole area would be changed.

Cllr Claudine Russell (Con) agreed, saying that it was difficult to argue now that an extra HMO in Fant would change the street scene, because there were now so many HMOs there. But since this was the first HMO in Castle Dene, it presented an opportunity to use that argument.

While admitting that parking on Castle Dene was “stressed,” planning officer William Fletcher, who sought to have the application approved, pointed out that under existing legislation the house could be converted to a six-bed HMO without the need for planning permission and he questioned whether the extra traffic from one more bedroom would make a significant difference.

Councillors pointed to a photograph of the street scene displayed on screen in the council chamber, where there was clearly a car parked immediately across from a junction causing a potential hazard - and Mr Fletcher had to admit it was his vehicle.

He had parked there just for a moment, he said, while he jumped out to take the photograph.

Cllr Tony Harwood argued that there were very specific traffic reasons relating to this proposal that made it unacceptable - the proposed HMO lay at the end of a cul-de-sac and was in the turning circle. Any extra parking there would be particularly harmful.

The committee voted by 12 votes to one to refuse permission.

Kent is home to almost 2,000 HMOs and the number is constantly growing.

Maidstone has one of the highest concentrations, and within Maidstone, Fant is the most affected ward. The last time the council counted - which was two years ago - there were 115.

Opponents of HMOs argue that they bring parking problems, a change in the character of the street scene with multiple waste bins at the properties and very often - because the HMO residents do not always have any amenity space within their building - there is a tendency for tenants to congregate outside, causing noise and disturbance to neighbours.

The latter would not have applied to the Castle Dene application as the scheme provided for a communal kitchen, living and dining area. The rooms were also planned to be larger than normally found in an HMO.

Traditionally most HMOs have been found in university towns where it is common for students to live together in shared accommodation.

To find out about planning applications that may affect you, visit the Public Notice Portal.

Details of the Castle Dene proposal can be found on the Maidstone council website under application number 24/501948.