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2 Markfield Road Bootle L20 5DU

DC/2025/01660Refused

Refused on 12 December 2025

Council decision: Refuse3 reasons for refusal

Site boundary (council red line)

Proposal

Change of use from a dwellinghouse (Class C3) to HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) (Sui Generis) (7 units/persons), including erection of a dormer to the rear elevation, internal alterations to form en-suite bedsits with a shared communal kitchen/dining/lounge area, installation of 1no roof light to front elevation, alterations to side elevation and provision of bin and cycle store.

Submitted
31 October 2025
Ward
Litherland Ward
  1. Received31 Oct
  2. Validated31 Oct
  3. Consult.
  4. Target
  5. Decided12 Dec

Decided in 42 days

About this application

This is a planning application for a dormer extension at 2 Markfield Road Bootle L20 5DU. Sefton has handled 4,275 applications of this type. This one was decided in 42 days, 2 weeks quicker than Sefton's typical decision time. There has been 1 other application at this address. In the past year there have been 44 applications across Litherland Ward. We hold 179 applications in total for the L20 postcode area.

Why it was refused

  1. The proposal would result in an unacceptable overconcentration of Houses in Multiple Occupation within the locality. The development would exceed the threshold set out in the Council's Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) Conversions to Flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation (May 2023), which restricts conversions to no more than 10% of properties within a 100-metre radius. Exceeding this threshold would lead to a harmful cumulative impact, causing significant harm to the character of the area. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policy HC4 of the Sefton Local Plan, the SPD and paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
  2. The proposed development represents an over-intensive use of a small, terraced property and fails to provide acceptable living conditions for future occupants. Bedroom 1 is located within 2 metres of the public highway, resulting in inadequate privacy and exposure to noise. The outlook from Bedroom 2 would be obstructed by the proposed bike store, and Bedroom 6 relies on a roof light that does not provide a reasonable outlook. In addition, the proposal fails to provide the required level of outdoor amenity space, and no robust justification has been submitted for this shortfall. Collectively, these deficiencies would result in substandard living conditions and an over-intensive use of the property, contrary to Policy HC4 of the Sefton Local Plan, the Council's Supplementary Planning Document Conversions to Flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation (May 2023) and paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
  3. The applicant has not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the property has been vacant and actively marketed at local market value for a minimum of six months, as required by Policy BAAP19 of the Emerging Bootle Area Action Plan. The proposal therefore fails to comply with this policy and cannot be supported in its current form.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
L20 5DU
Parish
Not Available

Planning application dates

Date validated
31 October 2025

Applicant and agent

Applicant
Private applicant

Planning decision

Case officer
John Kerr

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

  • Article 4 direction: Bootle and Waterloo HMO
  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)
Also checked, none recorded (23)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, tree preservation orders, green belt, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Sefton

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