- Decision
- dismissed, 18 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: Les Greenwood
- Authority
- Liverpool (North West)
- Appeal reference
- 6010552
- Application reference
- 25F/1821
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Extension and change of use of vacant upper floors (consented as 2 flats) to 7-bed HMO above retained shop
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- HO9, L2(1)(d)(ii)
- Development plan policies
- Liverpool Local Plan 2013-2033 SP2, H10, SPG7
- Main issues
- living conditions of future occupiers
Summary
Seven-bed HMO in long-vacant space above a shop in Garston district centre. The principle was supported, but the appeal was dismissed because the accommodation "would be cramped and awkward for occupation by 7 people" and had no external space (DL ¶¶11–13). HO9(c) and L2 were read as imposing living-standard requirements on HMOs (DL ¶10). Parties had commented on the new Framework (DL ¶6).
What made the difference
Meeting minimum room sizes "just" was not enough, given the combination of cramped internal space and no outdoor amenity (DL ¶¶11–12). The Inspector would not accept a yard introduced at appeal because it raised new issues (DL ¶5).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| HO9 | fail | HO9(c) read as requiring HMOs to "provide adequate living and storage space and sufficient shared cooking, laundry and amenity areas" — cramped layout, no external space (DL 10-13) | |
| L2(1)(d)(ii) | fail | effective-use support conditional on acceptable living standards incl. external amenity space (DL 10, 13) |
Key facts
- Headroom only just achieved by lowering floor levels; no external amenity space and no nearby public open space identified
- Extant permission for 2 flats treated as a weak fallback because the HMO is significantly more intense (DL 14)
- Appeal-stage amended plans adding an external yard rejected as procedurally unfair (DL 4-5)
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.