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Search the Public Notice PortalA Skelmersdale landlord has been given formal confirmation he can turn a family home into a five-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO) without needing full planning permission.
West Lancashire Borough Council has issued a Lawful Development Certificate for 49 Fairstead, Birch Green, WN8 6RB, allowing the two-storey mid-terrace to switch from a standard dwelling (Class C3) to a small HMO (Class C4) with five bedrooms sharing kitchen and living facilities.
The certificate, dated March 18 2026, confirms the change is permitted development under national planning rules, rather than something the council can refuse on policy grounds.
Applicant Marcin Skomski plans to reconfigure the ground floor to create two additional bedrooms, move the kitchen to a different part of the house and add an extra shower room, while changing rear doors into a window.
According to the planning statement, the final layout will provide five bedrooms served by two shared bathrooms and a separate WC, with no extensions or new openings to the side elevation and no change to the external appearance from the street.
Because the application was for a Certificate of Lawfulness, officers were not weighing up the pros and cons of an HMO in this location, but simply assessing whether the proposal fits within the scope of permitted development set out in the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO).
Under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class L(b) of the GPDO, a change of use from a single dwellinghouse (C3) to a small HMO (C4) is allowed without a full planning application, provided the property is not split into more than one HMO and houses no more than six residents.
Case officer Kerry Webster noted that the proposed layout shows shared facilities and no physical subdivision of the building, meaning it would remain a single planning unit rather than being carved up into multiple flats or separate HMOs.
On that basis, the council concluded the project meets the criteria in Class L and does not trigger any of the exclusions that would require a planning application.
The planning statement also highlights that while an Article 4 Direction applies in the wider area, it does not remove permitted development rights for C3-to-C4 changes at this specific address.
Pre-application advice given to the applicant in June 2025 under reference PRE/2025/0127/MIN had already indicated that planning permission was not needed, and the latest decision effectively rubber-stamps that position in law.
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In its formal certificate, the council states: “The proposed change of use from a Class C3 dwellinghouse to a C4 House in Multiple Occupation is permitted development under Class L(b) of Part 3, Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended).”
The document stresses that the certificate only relates to planning law and does not override any separate requirements under building regulations, licensing or private covenants on the property.
It also warns that if the scheme were to change materially from what is shown on the approved plans, the owner could lose the protection of the certificate and face potential enforcement action.
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