Redbridge has refused the retrospective bid to keep 13 Granville Road as an HMO for 24 people, against officers' advice. The two reasons, and what happens next.

Redbridge Council has refused planning permission for 13 Granville Road in Ilford to stay a shared house for up to 24 people. The former children’s home has been run as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) for 18 households since April 2024, without permission.

The decision notice is dated Thursday 15 October. It was issued the day after the application went back to the Planning Committee, and it goes against the advice of the council’s own planning officers, who had recommended approval twice.

Two reasons for refusal

The applicant, Halo Property Services Ltd, applied in January for permission after the fact. Application 0249/26 was refused for two reasons:

  • Parking. No parking survey was submitted, so the application “failed to demonstrate” that a lack of car parking would not harm highway and pedestrian safety.
  • Comings and goings. The notice cites “an intensified pattern of independent occupation, trips, comings and goings and general activity” that it says was not properly assessed or mitigated, and is “inappropriate in this predominantly residential setting”.

The second reason adds that “substantial weight has been given to the retrospective nature of the application”. The notice cites policies LP6, LP23 and LP24 of the Redbridge Local Plan 2018, along with national policies.

Both reasons follow wording the officers drafted for members in their follow-up report to the 14 October meeting. That report kept the recommendation to grant, but set out how a refusal could be worded if the committee insisted.

How it got here

At the first hearing on 16 September, members voted 9 to 2 against the officers’ recommendation and adjourned the item. They had raised four possible reasons for refusal. We reported the background in September and the follow-up report before the October meeting.

Two of those four reasons did not make it into the notice:

  • Loss of a children’s home. Officers said this was not a sound reason. Redbridge’s own Children’s Services had raised no objection and said the building “likely has not been operating as one for some time”.
  • The town centre test in policy LP6. Officers accepted the site is outside a town centre but argued no family home was being lost. The decision cites LP6, but not that test by name.

The council’s highways team had asked for a parking stress survey from the start. Planning officers decided in September that six off-street spaces made one unnecessary. That objection has now become the first reason for refusal.

The council opened an enforcement case on the property, E0063/25, “Unauthorised HMO”, on 5 February 2025.

The council has not yet published the minutes of the 14 October meeting, so the vote count is not on the record.

What happens next

A refusal does not by itself require the use to stop. That would take a separate enforcement notice, and none has been published.

The decision notice sets out the applicant’s options:

  • Appeal to the Secretary of State within six months of the decision, which runs to 15 April 2027.
  • If an enforcement notice is served on the same development, the appeal window shortens to 28 days from the date the notice is served, or the six months if that ends sooner.
  • The council also encourages the applicant to use its pre-application service to discuss whether changes could make a scheme acceptable.

What it means for you

If you live near Granville Road or Park Avenue, nothing changes straight away. The house remains in use as an HMO while the applicant considers an appeal and the council decides on enforcement.

Planning permission and HMO licensing are separate. Redbridge requires a licence for any HMO with five or more occupants forming two or more households, whatever the planning position.

Planning decisions in the borough also change soon. From 31 October, three objections or a councillor’s call-in will no longer send an application to a public committee hearing like this one, as we explained here. Our Redbridge planning page tracks other applications.

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