Dartford refused a six-bed HMO on Priory Road on 7 October. A six-bed HMO in Stone is recommended for approval at the 15 October board. Here is why.

Dartford Borough Council has refused permission to turn a three-bedroom house on Priory Road into a six-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO). The decision notice is dated Wednesday 7 October.

A week later, councillors will be asked to approve almost the same proposal in Stone. Officers recommend granting a six-bedroom, six-person HMO at Whitby Cliffs, 11A Whitby Close, just over two miles east of Dartford town centre. The Development Control Board meets on Thursday 15 October at 7pm.

Both applications drew 12 objections. They came out differently because of two numbers in the council’s new HMO rules: the size of the house as first built, and how many cars fit on the drive.

Why Priory Road was refused

The application, 26/00829/FUL, was made by Oxygn Properties Ltd for 40 Priory Road, DA1 2BS. The council gave two reasons for refusal (decision notice, 7 October 2026).

The first is the loss of a family home. The planning officer’s report says the house was built with 105.34 square metres of floor space and three bedrooms. Dartford’s HMO guidance says converting a house smaller than 120 square metres is unlikely to be acceptable. It also resists converting a two or three-bedroom house within 800 metres’ walk of a school. Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School is within that distance, the report says.

The second is parking. The guidance asks for one space for every two rooms, so a six-bed HMO needs three. The officer measured the drive at just over 5 metres deep and 4.95 metres wide. Once the bin store is in place, it would hold one car. The applicant’s own parking survey showed the street was “already under significant stress”, the report says.

The officer did not find a breach of the HMO concentration limit, and found the garden and room sizes broadly acceptable.

Twelve neighbours objected. So did ward councillor Matthew J Davis and the Kent county councillor for Dartford East, Ryan Waters. Their concerns included the loss of a family house, parking and flood risk.

A certificate that no longer helps

The house had already cleared one hurdle. In September 2025 the council issued a lawful development certificate confirming that a six-person HMO there did not then need planning permission (25/00794/LDC). The council’s private sector housing team told planners that an HMO licence for six people has been granted.

What changed is the borough’s Article 4 direction. Since 9 December 2025, turning any house into an HMO for up to six people needs full planning permission. Before that, only HMOs for more than six needed it. The officer noted that the Article 4 direction “has since come into force” and assessed the application as a new change of use.

The applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The council’s decision notice sets out how.

The Stone application, 26/00682/FUL, is for a detached five-bedroom house at the end of Whitby Close, in the Stone Castle ward. The plans show six bedrooms across the first and second floors, all but one with an en suite. No external changes are proposed (officer report to the Development Control Board).

It passes the two tests that sank Priory Road:

  • Size. The house was first built with 137.34 square metres, above the 120 square metre threshold
  • Parking. The drive holds three cars side by side, which meets the one-space-per-two-rooms standard

The officer also found:

  • no existing HMOs among the 22 properties within 50 metres
  • a 156 square metre rear garden and a 44 square metre living room
  • every bedroom above the 7.5 square metre national minimum

The report recommends conditions capping the house at six residents and requiring details of noise insulation between rooms.

The objections are heavy for a single house. Residents at 12 addresses objected, citing parking, loss of family housing, bins, noise and the quiet of the close. Some pointed to a small care home recently refused in the area. Stone Parish Council objected on parking, highway safety and amenity. Kent county councillor Ryan Waters raised waste storage, drying space and parking.

On parking, the officer’s answer is that the standard has been met. “In order to refuse planning permission on the basis of lack of parking provision there must be harm identified,” the report says.

Comparison table of two six-bedroom HMO applications. 40 Priory Road, Dartford: first built at 105.34 square metres with 3 bedrooms, under the 120 square metre test so resisted, Holy Trinity CE Primary within 800 metres, 3 parking spaces needed and 1 fits, 12 objections plus two councillors, no breach of the 50 metre concentration limit, refused on 7 October. Whitby Cliffs, Stone: first built at 137.34 square metres, passes the size test, school test not raised in the report, 3 spaces needed and 3 fit, objections from 12 addresses, the parish council and a councillor, no HMOs among 22 homes within 50 metres, officers back it and the board decides on 15 October
How the two houses measured up. Graphic by Dartford Online.
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What it means for you

If you live near a house that could become an HMO. Since December, every conversion needs permission, so you will see an application and can comment. The tests that decide it are in our guide to Dartford’s HMO rules. Parking and the house’s original size are what carried the weight in these two cases.

If you objected to the Whitby Close application. Only people who commented can speak at the board, and only one speaker against and one in favour is allowed, first come first served. Register on the council’s 24-hour line, 01322 343987. The letter the council sends you gives the registration deadline (Dartford Borough Council: public speaking).

If you want to watch. The board meets in the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre, Home Gardens, at 7pm on Thursday 15 October. Other applications in the borough are on our planning applications page.

Sources