A DECISION on whether to allow a controversial extension already rejected by the council and a government inspector looks finally set to be made this week.

Worcester City Council's planning committee was supposed to decide on whether to allow the extension to a house of multiple occupation (HMO) in Bozward Street in Worcester at a meeting yesterday (June 25) but the plan was pulled from the agenda.

Councillors meet again this week with a recommendation from the city council's planning officers that the plan should be approved.

Worcestershire County Council's highways department said the plan should be refused.

A revised planning statement submitted after the planning application was pulled from the agenda, showed the HMO is already occupied by six people and allowing the work to go ahead would make the rooms larger.

The extension was rejected by the council's planning committee and the government’s planning inspectorate last year over parking and congestion fears.

Having had the plan rejected, developer Bob Panesar appealed to the council for a ‘lawful development certificate’ for the extensions to allow the home to be converted from a five to a six-bed HMO, which was approved, before then resubmitting the planning application in May.

The plan was rejected by councillors in February last year after it was called in by Cllr Richard Udall, who represents St John’s, over the impact it would potentially have on neighbours and parking in the street.

There were concerns that creating more rooms in the HMO would make parking in the already-congested Bozward Street and surrounding streets worse.

The council’s planning committee rejected the plan, despite the council’s planning department recommending it should be approved, and then refused it again a month later.

Mr Panesar appealed to the government’s planning inspectorate to reverse the decision but was unsuccessful.