People have been living in the building since last September despite the landlord’s failure to obtain planning permission, reports James Cracknell

Southgate Police Station (credit Google)

Enfield Council is set to grant a house of multiple occupation (HMO) licence for Southgate Police Station – despite previously issuing an enforcement notice against its illegal occupation.

The council confirmed this week that it had found “improvements to the property” and “no evidence of antisocial behaviour or waste issues” at the site in Chase Side, and was therefore “proposing to grant a two-year HMO licence with a maximum permitted number of occupiers of 40 people”.

This is despite the police station, which had previously been vacant, being occupied without planning permission since September last year.

Controversy has swirled around the future of the building since last summer when plans for a 65-room hostel were first submitted, with 282 objections being made and all three local councillors raising various concerns. The Metropolitan Police also weighed in, stating its fears around “crime prevention, safety, security” as well as “the safety of lone women and young girls”.

The plans were subsequently rejected by the council last September, but just weeks later people had begun living in the building unlawfully. An enforcement notice was issued by the council in January, giving the building owners until the end of April to empty the site.

However, this was appealed, and a planning inspector last week heard evidence for and against the plans – with no decision yet being made.

Prior to the enforcement notice, a HMO licence application was submitted to the council. Because the building had no prior use as a residence, both planning and licence applications need to be approved by different council departments.

But while the council’s licensing team now appears happy to approve the HMO licence, the council’s planning team continues to oppose the conversion of the building for residential use.

Southgate councillor Stephanos Ioannou called it a “slap in the face” for the hundreds of residents who raised concerns over the past year, while questioning the assertion that conditions inside the building have improved – pointing out the planning inspector himself said he’d found evidence of people living in a “store cupboard”.

Susan Erbil, the council’s cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said: “A number of inspections were carried out by private rented housing and London Fire Brigade to assess the suitability of the property as a HMO, to assess the fire safety standards, and to check the management arrangements.

“Following inspections with the LFB, the council was satisfied that the new appointed managing agents had taken into account the advice provided. This included reducing the permitted number of occupants to 40 [down from 99], reconfiguring kitchens and bathrooms, and improving management and compliance standards which have been met.

“These improvements to the property and how it’s managed happened because our council teams, working with LFB, took action and carried out inspections. It shows the landlord is making the right efforts to improve the condition and management of the housing.

“In addition, an unannounced inspection was carried out on 20th May and no evidence of antisocial behaviour or waste issues were noted outside the premises.”

Cllr Erbil said that, based on these “significant improvements”, the council was now proposing to grant the licence. She added: “The council must follow national laws when it comes to licensing HMOs. This means it cannot just refuse to give a licence if the application meets all legal requirements. Even if the application is unpopular or controversial, the council will approve applications as long as they meet necessary conditions.

“The HMO licence application is a separate matter to the planning application submitted.”

Cllr Ioannou said: “The decision to grant an HMO is a slap in the face for all residents in Southgate. We all know there is little difference between this modification compared to a hostel, and the issues they both bring to our area. The evidence councillors and members of the community provided to the planning team were more than sufficient, our arguments were strong.

“This is a massive blow to Southgate.”

The new agent for the landlord of the site is Sam Planning, which did not respond to a request to comment.

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