Plans for a new four-storey house in multiple occupation (HMO) in the heart of a town centre have been approved, paving the way for a 10-bedroom property.
TA Property Investments Ltd has secured planning permission to build the HMO in Week Street, Maidstone.
The site, which is surrounded by other properties, will be accessed only via a narrow pedestrian alleyway leading to Union Street, beside the American Star Nails Bar.
The approved development will see the demolition of an existing shed and the construction of a multi-storey building offering self-contained bedrooms.
Plans include shared kitchen/dining facilities, cycle storage, and other shared amenities depending on which of the submitted design variants is followed.
Due to the lack of vehicular access, all construction materials will need to be delivered on-street and carried in by hand.
A detailed construction management plan submitted with the application outlines how deliveries will be coordinated, including the use of trained banksmen to guide large vehicles along Union Street. Concrete will be mixed on the roadside before being transported to the site.
Although some confusion surrounded the initial plans, mainly around whether the building would be three or four-storeys high, the application has now been approved as submitted, with further clarity expected at the detailed design stage.
While Merkur Slots, which sits in front of the proposed site, is not part of the development, the new building will be positioned directly behind it. The site borders the Holy Trinity Conservation Area but is not a listed location.
The approval comes despite Maidstone having a high concentration of HMOs.
Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is currently consulting on a proposed Supplementary Planning Document aimed at tightening controls around HMO developments. However, since the new policy has not yet come into force, the application was assessed under existing rules.
The approved scheme provides no on-site parking. A feature which may have caused problems under any new incoming HMO policy.
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Details of the approved Week Street and Union Street application are available under application number 25/501097.
