A councillor has called for all new HMOs to be created with en suite bathrooms, and not shared bathrooms.

The call came during a debate on a planning application to turn a shopfront office and flat into an HMO because it does not feature en suite bathrooms. 

The former Fine & Country estate agency office in Northampton is now to be a takeaway at shopfront level with an HMO above it.

The first floor of the building will feature a shared kitchen, living room and toilet while the second and third floors will each have two bedrooms and a bathroom.

But although the plan was approved, Labour councillor Danielle Stone says the council should insist new HMOs be built with en-suites instead of shared toilet facilities due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

However planning officers told councillors that Coronavirus was not a planning consideration.

According to the Northampton Live news website, officers recommended the scheme for approval despite it breaching planning policy regarding the number of HMOs in concentrated areas.

The authority says HMOs should not be approved if more than 10 per cent of buildings within a 50 metre radius are also HMOs – and this building takes the proportion up to 11.5 per cent.

But because the office has been vacant for some time, is in poor condition and is a retail unit in a location where demand for shops is low, an exception has been made.