Plans for new HMO approved despite 36 objections
MORE than 30 people have objected to plans for an HMO in the Trelewis area of Merthyr Tydfil.
The plan is for the change of use from a house to a house in multiple occupancy with five bedrooms in Maen Gilfach. The planning report going before the committee on Thursday said no physical alterations were proposed to the exterior of the property.
All physical alterations are contained to the interior of the property and they are proposed to enable the house to accommodate five bedrooms for five people with a communal kitchen area, bathroom and living/dining room.
There were 36 letters of objection from the public which raised concerns in relation to parking provision, the impact upon highway safety and that the proposed development would result in an over intensification of the use of the dwelling which was not in-keeping with the character of the area with Bedlinog and Trelewis Community Council also raising concerns over parking and anti-social behaviour.
In recommending approval and responding to the concerns raised, planning officers said in their report that the proposed development had been considered against the relevant policies of the Local Development Plan and requirements of national planning policy and no conflict had been identified. In respect of the impact upon the character of the area, they said the land was within a residential area, had an existing residential use and this would be unchanged therefore no objection was raised in this respect.
They said there were no HMOs in this area so it was not considered that the introduction of one would have any significant change to the character of the area that would warrant concern and therefore it had not been possible to identify an unacceptable impact that would warrant the refusal of this application.
They added that this would remain as residential and the number of occupiers would be limited to five so this was not considered to result in an over intensification of the use or to have any unacceptable adverse impact upon the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers.
They highlighted that up to six adults could occupy the property without triggering a change of use which had been given significant weight in the assessment of this application.
They said the change in the use of the property to a HMO would not require a greater provision of parking than the existing use and because a greater level of occupancy could occur at this property without the need for planning consent it was not considered justified or necessary to condition that off street parking be provided.
A COUPLE have launched a £10,000 civil claim for compensation against a former Wales international rugby player turned tailor over the service he provided for their wedding.
Jamie and Nathan Sussex-Smith say Nathan Palmer, who played on the wing for Wales’ sevens side before launching a career as a bespoke tailor, provided them with ill-fitting clothes they had to take to another tailor for alterations and made the build up to their big day enormously stressful through his failure to communicate with them until just before the wedding.
The couple thought Mr Palmer had promised them he would be making all the clothes for their bridesmaids himself but found a business card for a Vietnamese tailoring service inside one of the outfits. They have obtained a County Court Judgement against Mr Palmer’s business Penarth Brands for £10,353.
We contacted Mr Palmer for a response to the couple’s allegations but he said he would not comment while the legal process was ongoing. On his website, Mr Palmer, who owns Nathan Palmer Bespoke Tailoring in Penarth, describes his business as a “made to measure service, as well as a bespoke, hand made suit service”.
Actor Nathan Sussex-Smith and business owner Jamie Lloyd SussexSmith say that they first met with Mr Palmer in February last year to commission him to make several outfits for their bridal party. These included five dresses, one female suit and a male suit jacket. This was six months before their wedding on August 27.
Since launching his studio in 2013, Mr Palmer has built a reputation for creating bespoke made to measure clothing. He lists his clientele as including Sol Bamba, Ian Wright, Sam Warburton, Gavin Thomas and H from Steps. He has made wedding suits for Aston Merrygold and Keiffer Moore and has clients from around the globe, including America and Cyprus.
It is this reputation that Jamie Sussex-Smith says made him want to commission Mr Palmer to design their wedding outfits.
He said: “We had a meeting with
Reporter him and we asked ‘do you also do female clothing?’ and he said he did. I personally asked him does he make them himself and he confirmed that he did. From there we were all happy and ready to go, or so I thought.
“When we were asking him to make the girls’ dresses we wanted assurance that he would have enough time to get them all done and that he had enough time between then and the wedding. He did have other events before us but he assured us we would have his full focus through the summer.
“At that point [we had no doubts]. He was very excited, we offered pictures of what style we were looking at. He offered to create them from those designs with additional bespoke parts to show off each girl’s individuality.
“Our female entourage were all different ages and sizes so it was extremely important to us that they felt amazing and it wasn’t just an off the rack kind of dress And this is obviously why we went to him.”
Ordinarily, Mr Palmer would source the fabric for the garments, with his website stating they “are passionate about sourcing the best fabrics from around the world”. However Mr Sussex-Smith says that he decided to source his own fabric as the couple weren’t happy with Mr Palmer’s offerings.
“He showed us some material swatches, but they weren’t really what we had in mind so I offered to get material myself. I had several trips driving up to London to get material. I didn’t mind because I knew it was exactly what we wanted. But at the same time I remember it didn’t really have the ‘full Nathan bespoke feel that he shouts about’.”
The couple said that as a result of sourcing the fabric, it had been agreed that the total cost of the dresses would be lower than normal. Due to the bespoke nature of his garments, there are no prices for Mr Palmer’s services readily available online but a previous interview with WalesOnline stated that two-piece suits cost from £1,000, three-piece suits from £1,350, dresses starting at £600 and made-to-measure shirts from £150.
The couple claim that as months went on they found it increasingly difficult to get in contact with Mr Palmer to arrange meetings. “There was absolutely zero contact from his side and it was very important to us to get regular communication with him because with so much going on and the dresses and our suits were obviously so important to us.
“We had complete radio silence, we would try and book a meeting and he would ignore it. We only communicated through WhatsApp, sometimes Instagram but he just wouldn’t get back to any time sensitive messages, sometimes till days later.
“We were trying to organise a big event and when someone doesn’t get back to you when you’re supposed to have their ‘full attention’ as he said we would. You don’t know what’s going on, it’s stressful. We didn’t have our first fitting until the summer so we only had a matter of weeks before the wedding and this was totally out of our control.”
Mr Sussex Smith, who had paid a deposit of £1,922, went to see Mr Palmer. “I said ‘I’ve been trying to message you’ and he was saying ‘I’ve been busy, I’ve been busy’. I said to