Policy information sourced from the Brent Local Plan
BH7: Accommodation with Shared Facilities or Additional Support
Proposals for student accommodation, non-self-contained or self-contained residential accommodation with shared facilities or on-site support/care to assist residents in their daily lives will be supported where the development meets all the following criteria:
- is located in an area with good access to public transport and other amenities, including shops (normally within 400m);
- is of an acceptable quality meeting appropriate standards for the needs of its occupants, including external amenity space, appropriate communal facilities, levels of support/ care and mobility;
- includes management arrangements agreed with the council suitable to its proposed use and size to not unacceptably impact on neighbour amenity;
- demonstrates that there is a specific Brent need, or in the case of purpose built student accommodation a London need, for the particular use; and
- will not lead to an over-concentration of the type of accommodation in the area. For Houses in Multiple Occupation an over-concentration is defined as where three or more of the ten nearest properties are Houses in Multiple Occupation.
The loss of existing accommodation or a site where planning permission exists for such use will only be acceptable where:
- demonstrated that there is no Brent need for the accommodation type, or residents’ needs can be better met by other existing accommodation and the site owner after undertaking reasonable endeavours in working with the council is not successful in finding an alternative supported accommodation scheme for the site; or
- replacement of unsatisfactory existing accommodation which cannot be improved to achieve current standards.
For more information please see the Brent Local Plan