Avondale Fisheries, Wakefield: Former Yorkshire chip shop to be turned into HMO after new planning appeal
A developer has been granted permission to convert a former fish and chip shop into a house share – three years after the controversial scheme was rejected.
Plans to turn the old Avondale Fisheries building, in Wakefield, into an eight-bedroom house of multiple occupancy (HMO) have been given the go-ahead following an appeal.
The scheme was rejected twice by Wakefield Council following objections from more than 200 residents and a previous appeal to the Planning Inspectorate was also refused.
New proposals for the property in Thornes were approved by an inspector after developer Ryan Beaumont scaled down original plans to install 17 bedrooms.
In July this year, council planners refused Mr Beaumont’s latest application for eight bedrooms, saying it would “fail to provide an adequate level of outdoor amenity space” for occupants.
The decision was overturned following a second appeal.
An inspector’s report said the proposals were “significantly different” to those previously assessed.
The document said: “Its size and shape would offer future occupiers meaningful and usable space that would not give rise to cramped living conditions.
“It would likely be able to satisfactorily accommodate all future occupiers at the same time, if necessary, without being used overly intensively.
“Overall, the proposed space, subject to conditions as appropriate, would be high quality and functional that would offer future occupiers adequate private outdoor space provision.”
The inspector also ordered the council to pay Mr Beaumont’s legal costs in full, citing “unreasonable behaviour resulting in unnecessary or wasted expense.”
Michael Graham, councillor for Wakefield West ward who has campaigned against the scheme, described the decision as a “betrayal of local people.”
He said: “To make matters worse, the inspector has also awarded costs against the council, meaning Wakefield taxpayers will now have to cover the bill for a decision they never supported.
“Not only does this decision go completely against the community’s wishes, it also signals to other developers that HMOs refused locally will still be pushed through on appeal by inspectors.
“I am gutted for everyone in Thornes who helped fight against this.
“This outcome shows exactly why the planning system needs urgent reform to give communities a real voice.”
More than 200 residents objected to the original scheme, saying the area was already overcrowded with a shortage of parking spaces.
At the time, Coun Graham said future residents would be “living like battery chickens”.
The council’s planning committee rejected the original plan in December 2022.
Mr Beaumont’s first appeal to the Planning Inspectorate was dismissed after an inspector carried out a site visit in 2023.