- Decision
- dismissed, 21 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: N Duff
- Authority
- Wigan (North West)
- Appeal reference
- 6008977
- Application reference
- A/25/099638/FULL
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Retrospective change of use of terraced house to 6-person C4 HMO with rear dormer and rooflights
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- S4(1), P3, DP3
- Development plan policies
- Wigan Core Strategy CP6, CP7, CP10, CP17, Places for Everyone JP-P1, JP-S1, JP-C8, UDP A1S, HMO SPD
- Main issues
- mixed communities; neighbour living conditions; future occupiers
Summary
A 6-person HMO in a Wigan terrace, begun around when a borough-wide Article 4 Direction took effect, was dismissed. It would sandwich a non-HMO house between HMOs, and add noise and on-street parking pressure. Under S4, the inspector found P3 and DP3 conflicts substantially outweighed the modest housing-choice benefit and the L2 airspace benefit (DL ¶41).
What made the difference
The SPD's sandwiching test, and the treatment of parking competition as a P3 living-conditions harm. Contrast PINS-6008643 (Southend), where parking stress was amenity-only and not enough under S4. The letter also treats a rear dormer as L2(1)(d) "airspace" development (DL ¶40).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| S4(1) | fail | modest HMO benefit and L2 airspace (dormer) benefit substantially outweighed by P3 and DP3 conflicts (DL 39-41) | |
| P3 | fail | sandwiching of No 92 between HMOs; cumulative noise and on-street parking competition harm neighbours (DL 8-24, 41) | |
| L2 | benefit | dormer and rooflights treated as use of airspace above residential premises (DL 40) |
Key facts
- Below the 10% concentration threshold, but sandwiches a mid-terrace non-HMO between HMOs at Nos 88 and 94 (DL 7-9)
- Borough-wide Article 4 Direction from 31 Aug 2025; no evidence the use began before then (DL 2, 33-35)
Related decisions
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.