The Hyndburn Borough Council Planning Committee met on Wednesday 3 September 2025, and approved an application for a certificate of lawful use for a property on Manchester Road and an application for prior approval to convert a commercial property on Union Street into flats.

Union Street conversion to flats

The committee approved an application for prior approval for the partial change of use of 21 Union Street, Accrington from a commercial unit and office space (Use Class E¹) to eight flats (Use Class C3²).

Joshua Parkinson, Planning Manager (Development Manager), told the committee that the statutory requirements relating to prior approval are much less prescriptive than those relating to planning applications. He emphasised the importance of not imposing unnecessarily onerous requirements and the need to only consider the factors highlighted in the report.

The committee considered the conditions in the report, noting the requirement of additional windows and the proposed site layout. They agreed that bringing the unoccupied building back into use would be a positive addition to the town centre, and that the property's accessibility to local transport links was also a positive.

Some concerns were raised about the lack of available parking nearby, but the committee decided that this was likely to be of minimal impact as there were available parking sites a short distance away.

Lancashire County Council (LCC) Highways had no objection to the proposal subject to conditions requiring the provision of a bicycle store, retention of part of the yard for refuse storage and approval of a construction method statement.

The committee approved the application with the conditions listed in the report, or as amended to the satisfaction of the Chief Planning and Transportation Officer. The conditions include:

• A construction method statement must be submitted and approved before any development commences, including details of loading and unloading of plant and materials, parking of vehicles, routing of delivery vehicles, and working hours.
• A scheme for the management and storage of waste and recycling must be submitted and approved before the flats are occupied, including details of the storage of containers and the movement of containers in preparation for collection.
• The windows approved under planning application reference 11/25/0136 must be installed before the flats are occupied.
• A noise impact assessment must be submitted and approved before the flats are occupied, demonstrating that specific noise standards would be met.
• Bicycle storage for a minimum of eight bicycles must be provided within the building before the flats are occupied.

Manchester Road change of use

The committee approved an application for a Certificate of Lawful Use to change the use of 450 Manchester Road, Accrington from a single dwelling (Class C3) to a small House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) (Class C4³) with three bedrooms.

Adam Birkett, Chief Planning and Transportation Officer, explained that under Class L of Part 3 of Schedule 2 of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended), the proposed change of use would be considered 'Permitted Development' and therefore no planning permission was required and the application for a Certificate of Lawful Use must be granted.

Ward Councillor David Heap spoke against the application on behalf of his constituents, highlighting that 170 objections had been made from residents, raising concerns about highway safety, residential amenity, the majority of owner-occupied properties in the area, and the proximity of two local schools. He asked the committee to consider the safety of residents, residential amenity, and the existing character of the area, and to refuse the application.

A representative, Rebecca Booth, spoke in support of the application, reminding the committee that this was not a planning application but an application for a Certificate for Lawful Use. She stated that there was no legal basis for the committee to refuse the certificate as in the report, and that the owner of the property would be happy to speak to the neighbouring residents to alleviate any concerns as she will be living in the property herself and wants to settle into the community.

Members expressed sympathy for the objectors, noting their concerns regarding the busy highway and the property's location in relation to the character of the area, but acknowledged that they had to follow the national planning guidance in place for this type of application, which does not consider these factors as reasons for refusal.

The committee approved the application as per the officer recommendation.