Large HMO in Chapelfields conservation area to be converted

The building used to house a watchmaker's premises



A large HMO in an historic area of Coventry will be turned into eight flats despite a neighbour's concerns. Number 49 Old Allesley Road has eight bedrooms, communal areas for residents and a lettings office at the back.

The old watchmakers' shop is in the conservation zone for Chapelfields which dates back to mid Victorian times. Council officials agreed the house could be converted into separate one-bedroom apartments yesterday, 11 February.

New doorways, windows, cycle and bin storage will be added and the site will lose a garage and gain a small extension. Not everyone was happy with the plan though, according to the planning officer's report.

It states one resident objected to the move over the "loss of historical features" and "lack of parking." But while the council's conservation officer opposed the scheme at first, they have given a new version the nod.

The official said the changed plan "shows respect" to the historical buildings' "originality." The report also admits the site will have just three off-street spaces compared to eight required under current standards.

But it said a parking survey showed there would be spaces close to the flats if needed, and the council's roads officer did not object. Four of the flats will share a garden and the space is smaller than the required level, the report admitted.

But officials claimed that as the outside area is shared between the units and not for a family house the "overall benefits" of the plans "outweigh the drawbacks." A planning statement with the scheme said plans would be carried out in a "sympathetic manner" to preserve the building's "key features" as a former watchmakers' site.

A blue plaque on the front of the terraced house shows it was used by William Williamson, a gold watch dial maker. Chapelfields itself was an expansion of the city's watch-making areas in the late 1840s.

The area hit headlines in 2022 when members of a local group called for the council to restrict the number of HMOs there. They claimed it had been turned into a "no go area for families" and people living in the houses of multiple occupation for a short time lacked pride in the suburb.

More details of the plans and decision can be found on the council's planning portal via reference: PL/2024/0002331/FUL

It was a funeral parlour for many years (I forget which one) and then a menswear shop!