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Plans have been submitted for a huge house in Birkenhead. A 22-person HMO in Tranmere, Birkenhead, to be exact.
The plans have been submitted to Wirral Council. According to Birkenhead News, an application to convert 32 Westbank Road into a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) proposes housing six separate families in the two-and-a-half-storey property. All residents would share just a single communal kitchen and garden space.
Under the plans, each of the six rooms would be occupied by one family, and nobody who is unrelated would share. Five of the six rooms would accommodate four people, while the sixth room would house only two. This is not the only large HMO recently proposed in Birkenhead. Back in June, plans were submitted to create a 24-bed HMO in a derelict Birkenhead Gym in the centre of town aimed at young professionals, although there is no news on the outcome yet.
Despite the large number of people staying in the proposed HMO, each room would have an ensuite bathroom. The application describes the room sizes as "generous", claiming each bedroom "could comfortably accommodate more than four occupants" – though the total limit for the property would be set at 22.
The kitchen in the house measures 10 square metres but would be extended by five metres to reach 15 square metres. This would be done by adding another ground-floor room to create a larger kitchen and living space.
Now, here is where it gets interesting. The existing driveway only fits two vehicles, but the plans cover that. They say three further vehicles can fit on the street directly outside the property.
While the limited parking for a 22-person household is considered to be a problem, the planning argues against that. The plans state the location is well reachable through public transport, with "two train stations are situated within walking distance," and the property is positioned on "established bus routes serving destinations across Wirral and into Liverpool City Centre."
There would also be six cycle parking spaces available at the back of the property, which is considered adequate for the location and development size.
The application calls the proposed development "high-quality residential accommodation".
