Plan to convert Scarborough town centre student housing into 11-bed HMO

The building at 34 Aberdeen Walk became student accommodation 20 years ago and has been managed “without significant harm to amenity,” according to submitted documents.

Applicant West Park Property Developments said it is a “very experienced operator of very high-quality HMOs in the Scarborough area” and that it takes responsibility towards tenants and neighbours “very seriously”.

Last year the same applicant was granted permission for the conversion of vacant shop units at 20/20A Victoria Road into an 11-bed HMO despite local objections.

So far, no objections have been raised by the Highway Authority or the council’s housing standards manager.

If approved, the site would provide two car parking spaces as well as secure bicycle storage that could be accessed from Albemarle Crescent.

All but three of the rooms are proposed to have en-suite facilities whilst communal areas, including the kitchen and living room, would be located on the ground floor.

The application notes that if approved, the plan would “intensify the use due to an increase in the number of bedrooms” but said that pedestrian movements would not be increased to “unsustainable levels”.

The developer has also stated that “there would not be or likely to be an increase in crime and disorder or a potential for such an increase as the proposed use would remain residential”.

Double-glazed uPVC sliding slash windows would also be installed in order to “improve amenity”.

The applicant added that there were “sufficient positives to justify an application of this nature on this site”.

The proposal is currently pending with the local planning authority which has not set a date for a decision on the application.