Find, save and share Public Notices that affect you in the area.
Search the Public Notice Portal What is the Public Notice Portal?What is the Public Notice Portal?
The Public Notice Portal carries statutory public notices published in local newspapers and is the fastest and most effective way of finding out what is happening in YOUR neighbourhood.
Search the Public Notice PortalA house in Erith could be turned into an eight-bedroom HMO after an earlier attempt to expand it was rejected.
New plans have been submitted to Bexley Council for 17 Park Crescent, which already has permission to operate as a six-bedroom HMO.
The latest proposal would extend the roof and convert the loft, creating two more bedrooms and an additional shower room.
A HMO (house in multiple occupation) is a property where people rent individual bedrooms but share facilities such as kitchens and living areas.
READ MORE: Royal Observatory Greenwich to CLOSE for two years this autumn for major revamp
The property is an extended semi-detached house on Park Crescent.
Planning permission was granted in August 2025 for it to become a six-bedroom HMO.
That scheme included six bedrooms, a shared kitchen and dining room, a communal lounge and access to the rear garden.
The owner later applied to increase the number of bedrooms to eight, but Bexley Council refused the plans.
The applicant appealed the decision, but a Planning Inspector dismissed the appeal in April 2026.
The previous plans faced four objections, including concerns about the appearance of the roof, bin and cycle storage, noise and disturbance, and fire safety.
But the Inspector did not agree with all of the council's concerns.
They found the proposed bin and cycle storage would be acceptable.
They also found there was no evidence that adding two more occupants would cause a significant increase in noise or disturbance for neighbours.
The fire safety objection was later dropped after the applicant provided a Fire Statement.
The sticking point was the roof, in which the inspector said the previous half-hip roof and large rear dormer would harm the appearance of the house and the surrounding area.
The applicant has now gone back to the drawing board, and the new plans remove the half-hip roof and reduce the size of the rear dormer.
The rest of the approved ground and first-floor layout would remain unchanged. The loft would contain two bedrooms, with each having access to its own shower room.
The plans would also keep the proposed refuse and bicycle storage in the front garden. A highways consultant has assessed the impact of adding two more occupants.
Planning documents say a previous parking survey found no reasonable parking or highway concerns that should prevent the plans from being approved.
The applicant says the redesigned roof would improve the appearance of the property and fit into the Park Crescent streetscene.
Similar roof and loft extensions approved elsewhere in the borough have also been highlighted in the planning documents.
The applicant argues that the proposal would make better use of the existing building while providing more housing.
The planning statement says HMOs can provide "flexible and relatively affordable accommodation", including for young professionals and people on lower incomes.
It also says the eight-bedroom HMO would meet the council's standards and would not create an overconcentration of HMOs in the area.
The property sits in an area designated as "Primarily Residential" by Bexley Council.
The applicant says the revised plans deal with the concerns raised by the Planning Inspector and should now be approved.
Bexley Council will make the final decision on the application no later than October 2.
Share