Plans for 9-bed HMO in Darlington's Greenbank Road approved

Darlington Borough Council refused the application for the property in Greenbank Road in July 2025, but the plans were granted after an appeal. 

The House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) proposal was opposed by residents, who warned that the area has “deteriorated” due to the increased number of shared homes. 

However, Vnoutchkov Properties, the applicant, said it would not harm neighbouring properties after applying to expand the property from six bedrooms to nine. 

Refusing the application last year, councillors on the local authority’s planning committee agreed that the increased noise, disturbance, and lack of parking would impact existing residents. 

But, after reviewing the application’s appeal, the Planning Inspectorate ruled it would not harm the area. 

Located close to the town centre and Darlington Memorial Hospital, residents say several family homes have been lost to shared facilities in recent years. 

The July planning committee meeting was told that neighbours reported a “constant churn” of people living in the property, which contributed to concerns that the street had lost its identity. 

However, no “substantive evidence” was provided to demonstrate whether the proposed use as a nine-bedroom HMO would result in a disturbance to neighbouring properties. 

In their ruling, the Planning Inspectorate added that the terraced housing along Greenbank Road and the density of the area mean that increased noise and disturbance would be expected. But they were not certain that the use of rooms on the ground floor as bedrooms would harm the amenity of the neighbouring properties. 

HMOs are subject to separate licensing requirements that ensure appropriate fire and health and safety measures are implemented, and buildings are properly maintained.

The Inspector also noted a transport survey carried out in the Darlington street, which suggested that the additional parking requirements of three individuals would not result in an unacceptable level of parking stress to the area.

“The development would not have a harmful effect on the living conditions of neighbouring occupants in regard to noise and disturbance and parking provision,” the report concluded. 

It added: “Several representations raise concerns that future occupants would participate in anti-social behaviour, criminal activity and littering. However, there is no evidence before me to clearly show that occupants of a large HMOs are more likely to carry out such activities, when compared to occupants of a single-family dwelling or small HMO.”