Plans submitted for eight-bed HMO on Derby Road in Ipswich

Ipswich Borough Council received an application to turn a two-storey office building on 83 to 85 Derby Road into an HMO and allow associated external alteration works to be carried out. 

Before the site became home to an accounting business, it was used as residential accommodation. 

The office closed down about 18 months ago. 

The delivery of eight beds within the building would not extend the existing number of rooms on the site.  

The applicant said that the home would be maintained by a locked entry system to ensure that only tenants and HMO management employees would be able to access it. 

Plans submitted for eight-bed HMO on Derby Road in Ipswich, Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

A three-bay car park would be located at the front of the site. All bins would be locked in a secure bin storage area. 

The application reads that all bills would be included in the price of accommodation to “make it more convenient for occupants and potentially reduce financial stress, contributing to a higher quality of life”. 

The document continues that this development is a positive step in addressing the need for housing while repurposing an underutilised site. 

The HMO would be close to other residential units and would be in keeping with the residential nature of the area. 

Ipswich Borough Council leaders have recently been pushing ahead with plans to force landlords looking to open smaller houses in multiple occupation in Ipswich to get permission from the local authority. 

The decision would need to be signed off by Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, but it would force landlords planning to open HMOs for fewer than six people to apply for planning permission. 

Under current laws, HMOs only require local authority approval if they are for six or more occupants. 

The council has recently approved the motion.