An Air BnB property must now stop operating after permission for the change of use of the building was refused following complaints from neighbours.

A planning application to change the use of a building on Rochdale Road in Royton from a house to a "short-term holiday let" was put forward.

While an initial application form states that the change of use works had not begun, the planning officer noted in a report that it became apparent during the consultation process that it had and that the application would be assessed as such.

The property is a four-bedroom end terraced house, made up of three floors including the basement and is surrounded by similar residential buildings.

Twenty four objections and 12 support comments were received about the application and the council's environmental health team also objected.

A report on the plans said: "The council’s environmental health officer has raised an objection to the proposal due to a number of noise complaints from the current unauthorised use of the premises.

"Given its location, there are no reasonable conditions which would be imposed to prevent noise and disturbance to neighbouring properties."

The plans outlined that the property would be let out for short-term stays, and a further letter of support states that this would entail only letting out one or two rooms for a maximum of two guests. 

It was said that this would happen while the sole occupier of the home, the owner of the property, would still be residing at the property.

However, the planning officer noted an online listing for the property, which advertises the let as an "entire home in Royton" for up to 12 guests.

The report also stated that the online listing booked stays based on the length of stay required by the occupants and said: "As bookings appear to be made online it would be difficult to enforce a maximum number of occupants that stay within the property or that they are a ‘family’."

The report said that even booking short stays at the property would likely lead to a "transient pattern" due to a "significant" turnover.

It also noted that while there are bus stops along Rochdale Road, it is more likely that occupants would arrive by car or taxi, and that those arriving by car would need to find parking, as none is available at the property. 

The report said: "The transient pattern and occupancy of the short-term let accommodation and its associated service provision all combine to increase general comings and goings to the property beyond what would normally be expected with a dwellinghouse use.

"The additional comings and goings and transient nature of the guests, alongside the additional need for on-street parking would have a significant impact on the residential amenity of neighbouring properties in terms of noise and disturbance and demand for parking which would cause an inconvenience for neighbouring residents, further impacting their residential amenity.

"The proposal would lead to an unacceptable loss of privacy and increased levels of noise and disturbance to neighbouring properties.

"In addition, the inadequate parking provision would lead to loss of amenity for residents of Rochdale Road contrary to the objectives of policy 9 of the Oldham Local Plan.

"It is recommended that the application be refused."