Planning permission for another town centre house in multiple occupation has been refused by a council.

The decision to reject the application from Scott Nickless to convert a family home at 27 Charles Street in Fant, Maidstone into an eight-bedroom HMO went against the advice of officers, but councillors were adamant.

Cllr Maureen Cleator (Lab) likened the living conditions it could create to those overseen by Peter Rachman, a notorious slum landlord in London in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

She said: “This is the human equivalent of battery hen farming, to put so many people into a single home.

“Yes, we have a housing issue, but we don’t solve it by allowing Rachmans.”

Cllr Cleator insisted: “We have a responsibility for people’s health and wellbeing.”

She said she was particularly concerned about the tenants’ ability to escape the building if there was a fire.

She added: “I didn’t become a councillor to vote for slum housing.”

Earlier, the planning committee heard statements read out on behalf of two Fant ward councillors, Cllr Kimmy Milham (Green) and Cllr Paul Harper (Fant and Oakwood Independents), who were both away on holiday.

In her statement, Cllr Milham said it was “incredulous” that planning officers had accepted the applicant’s assertion that the property was already an eight-bedroom house.

She said: “Originally it was three bedrooms.”

She was concerned about the extra pressure on parking and on the sewage system, saying “pipes are already breaking and causing sinkholes in the area”.

Cllr Harper challenged the officers’ report that Charles Street had only 10% of properties as HMOs. He referred to an earlier council report from April 2022 that showed it had 15.4% HMOS even then - and he said more had been added since.

Cllr Dan Wilkinson (Lab) asked officers to explain the difference between the two figures, but they were unable to do so.

Cllr Harper described parking in the area as “a daily nightmare”.

He said Fant residents were sick of objecting (to HMOs) because their objections always came to nothing.

He said: “There’s a massive amount of scepticism.”

He pointed out: “A year ago there was a pledge to review the policies (so as to control HMOs) but nothing has happened.

“Now we have a Green Independent Alliance with the Lib Dems in control.

“When in opposition you said something must be done. Now is the time to show some compassion for the residents of Fant.”

Cllr Lottie Parfitt (Con) felt sorry for the new tenants. She said: “There is no way this is an eight-bedrom house. Their quality of life will be unacceptable.”

Cllr Valerie Springett (Con) said: “We’ve been battling HMOs for ages - battling and losing.”

She proposed the committee chairman, Cllr Paul Wilby, write to the cabinet member requesting “a proper policy” be developed for the next Local Plan Review.

But Cllr Denis Spooner sounded a note of caution. He said: “We have no planning grounds on which to refuse this application. If we do so, at the end of the day it will only be overturned at appeal.

“We will simply be giving false hope to the residents of Fant.”

That was also the view of the chief planning officer Rob Jarman.

But the leader of the council, Cllr Stuart Jeffery (Green), thought otherwise.

He said: “If there is significant harm to the amenity of the surrounding area we must say no.”

He said it was inevitable that an HMO would produce a proliferation of waste bins which would be left in the road because of the tiny front courtyard at the property.

He said: “I propose that we reject this application on the basis that it will significantly harm the character and amenity of the surrounding area.

“It is a cramped development that will spill out onto the road, both in terms of bins, and cars, and people - given that they would have no communal lounge to gather in.

“I think our new Local Plan does give us the power to do that - there will be significant harm both on its own and as a cumulative effect.”

His motion was accepted by a majority of the councillors and the application was refused. The voting was seven for refusal, four in favour, and two abstentions.

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.

Details of the Charles Street application can be found on the council’s website, under reference number 24/502229.

Cllr Tony Harwood (Lib Dem) is the cabinet member responsible for planning policy.

Outside the meeting, he said: “Within days of taking on the planning policy portfolio I met with officers to initiate development of a robust local policy framework to seek to strengthen the Local Plan Review document inherited by the new administration.

“The last government moved the goal posts on HMOs with their last update of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in order to stifle the ability of Local Planning Authorities to challenge clusters of HMOs.”

“Councils are bound primarily by national planning policy, with any local interpretation on implementation having to be scrupulously evidenced, widely consulted upon and ultimately agreed by the Planning Inspectorate.

“This is an expensive and time consuming process.

“But we hit the ground running on HMO policy and will hopefully be able to strengthen local policy protection for affected communities and residents of this type of development.

“We are also doing an ongoing complementary piece of work on parking standards that will be key to mitigating negative impacts from HMO developments.”

Cllr Harwood added: “Unfortunately, the proliferation of HMOs reflects changes in our society, with more people living in poverty, less job security and a chronic shortage of affordable homes - particularly one-bedroom units.”