A former bar in Mansfield town centre will be turned into shops and an HMO after permission was granted by Mansfield District Council.
Cohen’s Corner, at 37-39 Church Street, closed at least two years ago and was put up for auction in August last year.
In January, developers submitted plans to convert the property.
The proposals are to split the ground floor, which housed the former bar, into two smaller “commercial” units, and to convert the upstairs into a six-bedroom HMO (house in multiple occupation).
Also part of the plan is the demolition of part of the rear of the building to create a courtyard, and the building of an extension at the rear, two storeys high.
Local MP Steve Yemm raised the HMO issue in parliament in November, saying that residents on roads with HMOs on were experiencing a “growing feeling that they have lost their say on what happens on their own street”.
He also argued that HMOs lead to “bins overflowing, cars blocking pavements and transient visitors who stay for a short while and are not invested in the area”.
More recently, a group of Mansfield District councillors from various parties has been meeting to discuss whether there are too many HMOs in the area and whether the council should use legal measures to restrict their prevalence.
The proposed Church Street HMO would have six individual double bedrooms, all with en-suites, but residents would share a combined kitchen and living area.
Lots of work will have to take place in the interior of the building, but the applicants assert that the front of the building will not change in height or appearance, apart from signage.
Elsewhere, Mansfield District Council has granted permission for two further HMOs within the local area in the last two weeks.
A terraced house at 13 Princes Street, near Mansfield Town’s OneCall Stadium, has been given the nod to be upgraded from a six-bedroom HMO to a ten-person HMO.
It was only purchased by the owner in June last year – at which time it was still in its original format, as a three-bedroom home.
A property at 25 Gladstone Street, just outside the town centre, will also become an HMO with five bedrooms.
The current three-bed home will contain two bedrooms on the ground floor, along with a communal kitchen and dining area, two bedrooms on the first floor, and a bigger bedroom in the loft, all with en-suites.
By Joseph Connolly, Local Democracy Reporter