“Muppets! It’s a disgrace!”

Angry residents of Bath Road in Old Town did not stint in letting members of Swindon Borough Council's planning committee and the officers that support them know of their displeasure after a plan for a new  house of multiple occupation was approved.

After councillors voted to approve a new student-style HMO in their street, they were vociferous in telling the committee that they thought it was contributing to Swindon’s decline.

The application to convert the offices at 39 Bath Road, originally a Victorian terraced house, into a nine-bed HMO was submitted by Andrew Whiting.

It was put before the committee on March 12 after being called in by Old Town ward councillor Nadine Watt, because the officers report recommended approval.

Cllr Watts’colleague councillor Jane Milner-Barry spoke as ward member on her behalf.

She said she was concerned by the lack of parking, the difficulty of bin lorries accessing the rear of the property via the narrow lane The Shearings, and what she called “The proliferation of HMOS in the area”.

She added: “People are trying to return the nature of Bath Road to a residential road full of houses.”

After her speech the committee solicitor Craig Hallett told Cllr Milner-Barry her use of words like ‘inappropriate’ and ‘not suitable’ meant she had opened herself to a claim of pre-determination and asked her not to take further part in the debate and vote. Cllr Milner-Barry apologised and agreed.

Neighbour Steve Birch was concerned about parking on the site- where four of the offices' six parking spaces will be retained, and said: “It’s the only house with no back garden- so parking will be right up against the back door and the back door of the neighbouring properties.”

Members clearly were not happy with the proposal.

Councillor Neil Hopkins said of the report which recommended approval: “We now seem to be in a situation where we are saying things like lack of parking and the difficulties of bin collection are somebody else’s problem – we have to draw a limit somewhere.”

And Councillor Stanka Adamcova added: “There are three main issues, waste collection, parking and it's in a conservation area, if we approve this we are creating problems that we, as a council, then have to try and clear up.”

Reminded by Mr Hallett that they needed to find proper legal planning reasons to overturn the recommendation report.

When it came to the vote, six councillors abstained, one voted against and five voted to approve the plan,  which may have pleased the applicant – but it definitely did not the attending neighbours.