Councillors were split over HMOs amid concerns about parking and overcrowding.

Just two shared house applications won approval as Portsmouth’s planning committee rejected two schemes and deferred another.

Portsmouth councillors have approved two new Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO), refused two and deferred another following debates over parking, overcrowding and the impact on neighbouring homes.

At 56 Dover Road, Baffins, councillors narrowly approved plans to convert a two-storey terraced house into a seven-bedroom, seven-person HMO.

Applicant representative Simon Hill said: “I don’t dismiss the concerns of local residents.”

He argued there was a need for affordable shared accommodation, saying: “There is a significant percentage of people in Portsmouth who rent, many of them single young people.”

Cllr Darren Sanders opposed the scheme through a deputation, citing parking problems, noise and privacy concerns. Planning officers warned the parking shortfall would be a weak reason for refusal at appeal.

Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: “We have to work within the parameters that are set, it’s deeply unfair but there’s no point doing gesture politics – there’s no grounds for refusal that can survive an appeal.”

A refusal motion was tied three-three, with two abstentions, before the chair used her casting vote to approve the plans.

At 104 Stubbington Avenue, Copnor, permission was granted for an eight-bedroom, eight-person HMO.

Applicant Ruben Wincott described it as a “high end well designed build” and said it would bring “over £250,000 of value to the local economy”.

Cllr Lee Hunt opposed the plans, saying: “Doing this to old Victorian buildings in Portsmouth is not correct and for me I won’t vote for it.”

The committee was split four-four, with the chair’s casting vote again granting permission.

At 20 Winchester Road, councillors unanimously deferred plans for a five-bedroom HMO after concerns were raised about the layout, including one tenant having to travel to the top floor to use a bathroom.

At 6 Winchester Road, councillors voted six to one to refuse a five-bedroom HMO over an “unsuitable internal layout for the intended residential use” and “unsatisfactory amenity”.

Cllr Joe Standen said problems with bikes and bins needing to be wheeled through the property were evidence of “over development and cramming things in”.

Meanwhile, plans for a six-bedroom HMO at 55 Byron Road were unanimously refused over concerns about a bedroom’s lack of light and outlook and the impact on the streetscene.