Plans to expand an existing House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) above a convenience store in Oldham have been given the green light.

In December, plans were submitted to extend an existing HMO into a nine-bed HMO above a shop on Roundthorn Road.

The documents show the first floor already has six bedrooms with a shared kitchen, toilet and bathroom.

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However, the applicant outlined building a roof extension to create provision for a further three rooms, plus various alterations to the layout as well as a rear dormer and a new internal staircase.

The blueprint of the layout shows the first floor will contain five of the bedrooms, each with its own ensuite facilities, plus a shared kitchen and lounge/dining room.

Meanwhile, the new second floor would contain four bedsits, again each with its own ensuite.

Initially, the applicant sought to scrap the shared facilities entirely for a 10-bed HMO, though this was later reduced to nine in an amendment in February.

Assessing the plans in a site visit last year, a planning officer deemed the HMO to be in a "highly sustainable location" with it sitting close to public transport links and found the rooms to be of "sufficient size".

The officer added the rooms could "in fact" easily accommodate two people each,  though the shared facilities limit the provision to a maximum of 10.

In the absence of any objections from neighbours, the officer also found the HMO would not cause any harm to privacy, safety and security, noise, pollution and access to daylight, or cause any other nuisance for both the occupiers of the home and nearby properties.

Despite the lack of parking provision, the Council's highway engineer approved the plans for promoting public transport and the officer recommended adding a secure cycle parking unit instead.

Oldham Council then approved the plans on March 8 this year.

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