Wrotham Road Welling: Plan to turn home into six-bed HMO

Plans have been submitted to Bexley Council to convert 28 Wrotham Road from a conventional house into accommodation for up to six unrelated people.

An HMO, or house in multiple occupation, is a property where people rent individual bedrooms but share facilities such as kitchens and living areas.

Under the plans, the Wrotham Road property would contain six single-occupancy bedrooms alongside a shared kitchen, dining and living room.

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The existing garage would also be converted into habitable accommodation, with the garage door replaced by a window.

But no dedicated car parking spaces are proposed for the six-person HMO.

Planning documents acknowledge that the property has a Public Transport Accessibility Level, known as a PTAL, of 1a.

PTAL is a measure used to assess how accessible a location is by public transport, with the applicant describing the property's 1a rating as low.

The applicant says this has been considered as part of the plans and is proposing a "low-car approach", including secure storage for six bicycles, providing one space for each resident.

The existing driveway and vehicular access would remain, while the planning statement also says there is established on-street parking in the surrounding area.

It says: "The proposal adopts a low-car approach and seeks to support alternative travel modes through the provision of secure cycle storage for all six residents."

Each of the six bedrooms would be for one person and would range in size from 8.9 square metres to 13 square metres.

Residents would also share a 32-square-metre kitchen, dining and living area, equivalent to around 5.3 square metres of communal space per person.

A dedicated refuse and recycling store would be installed at the front of the property alongside the proposed bicycle storage.

The plans do not include an extension to the main building, with the conversion of the garage and replacement of its door with a window forming the main external change.

The existing rear garden would also be kept and made available for residents.

Planning documents acknowledge that having six residents could generate a "modest increase in comings and goings" compared with a single household but argue that the property would remain residential in use.

The applicant says the scheme would make efficient use of an existing home and provide more private rented accommodation.

The statement says: "The proposal does not create six self-contained residential units.

"It creates one shared residential unit occupied by a maximum of six people, with shared communal facilities."

Planning permission is required because Bexley's Article 4 Direction removed permitted development rights for changing conventional homes into small HMOs in the borough.

The application points to several other HMOs which have recently been approved by Bexley Council.

These include a five-person HMO at 28 Park View Road in Welling, approved in March 2026, and a six-person HMO at 29 Penn Lane in Bexley, approved in September 2025.

However, planning documents also refer to a larger HMO proposal at 45 Hadlow Road in Welling which was refused in March 2026.

The applicant argues this shows the council considers the individual scale and impacts of HMO proposals rather than imposing a blanket policy against them.

It says the Wrotham Road proposals would provide good-quality accommodation while retaining the property's residential character.

The statement concludes: "The proposal is considered to represent a suitable and proportionate form of residential intensification and an efficient use of an existing dwelling."

Bexley Council is expected to make a decision no later than October 26.