Former Bognor pub and student accommodation could become an HMO
Plans to change a Bognor student home into an 18 person HMO have been submitted to Arun District Council.
The application relates to 1 Highfield Road, which was previously operating as a pub before it was converted into student accommodation.
Planning permission was granted in 2022 for an 18 bed student house and it has been used as such since 2023.
An agreement was made with the University of Chichester and the house was occupied until the end of the academic year in 2025 when the contract ended.
No internal or external building works are planned and the communal space, bedrooms and exterior appearance would remain the same.
According to the planning statement the permission granted in 2022 did not restrict the occupation of the building to solely students.
It also states that the council has already advised that new planning permission is not necessary.
The application is instead seeking a Certificate of Lawfulness for a Proposed Use, which would provide a formal confirmation of whether the proposed use as a HMO is lawful.
The council is due to make a decision by October 16.
To view the application, log on to www.arun.gov.uk/planning-application-search/ and search for BR/153/26/CLP