The chairman of a council planning committee that incurred costs after rejecting a house of multiple occupation (HMO) application has warned colleagues against taking professional planning advice lightly. Cllr Tyssul Evans said costs awarded against Carmarthenshire Council by planning inspectors came from the planning department’s budget, affecting what officers could do. He noted that “members (councillors) always complain about the slowness of some of these decisions and things like this don’t help the situation.”
Background: How Planning Decisions Lead to Costs
Planning officers decide most applications and recommend others for approval or refusal by the planning committee. Councillors sometimes go against these recommendations, leading to appeals. If the appellant seeks costs, they can be awarded if the committee is deemed to have acted unreasonably by a Welsh Government-appointed planning inspector.
At a meeting on July 2, planning officer Hugh Towns highlighted two appeals following committee decisions to turn down HMO applications in Trinity Road, Llanelli, against officer advice. A planning inspector upheld both appeals and awarded costs against the council in one case; no costs were sought in the other. Mr Towns said the costs were not yet known and reminded members that “objective and site-specific evidence” was crucial. He stated: “Generalised concerns, local opposition, and potential stereotyping carry very, very limited weight without evidence to substantiate those issues.”
Committee Members Respond
Cllr Evans said: “It is a worry that members are taking lightly what officers are telling them at times.” Cllr Steve Williams felt the committee had provided evidence of parking issues in the Llanelli application that led to costs, and argued that the absence of a full HMO register “is not a failure of committee members.” He noted that according to a recent freedom of information response, there were only 14 registered HMOs in all of Carmarthenshire, and he was sure there were more than 14 in the ward covering Llanelli’s Trinity Road. He said he was “a little bit miffed” about the inspector’s decision, citing a separate appeal where a householder’s extension was dismissed on parking grounds.
Cllr Terry Davies understood Mr Towns’ concerns but said the committee lacked up-to-date data on HMO concentrations and impacts, which would help defend decisions. He noted that HMO applications often draw local objections, and crime and behaviour from HMOs create local pressure. “Residents expect timely and visible action from us,” he said, adding that a council task and finish group was examining HMO issues. The council’s register, as of February this year, showed six licensed HMOs in the county, with a seventh in the process of obtaining a licence.
Cllr Russell Sparks recalled saying at the planning meeting when the Trinity Road HMO applications were turned down that the committee lacked evidence to go against officer recommendations. He also said Cllr Davies had “made some very good points about how the community feels.”
