Controversial plans to convert a Crewe family home into a 13-bed HMO will be considered by councillors in July, amid officers' concerns about fire safety and planning breaches as well as numerous objections from residents.

Over 50 letters have been sent to Cheshire East Council opposing plans by Zeta Property Ltd to turn 37 Sydney Road in Crewe into a house in multiple occupation.

According to the applicant, the preferred outcome for the property is occupation by a veterans' charity,

Planning enforcement officers visited the property to find a large extension had already been built without permission and ordered an application be submitted or the building be demolished.

There are concerns from housing standards officers relating to escape from some of the inner rooms in the event of a fire.

Residents have raised numerous concerns including lack of parking, overdevelopment, impact on neighbours, noise and waste.

Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith has asked Cheshire East to look into these concerns.

Crewe Town Council has strongly objected to the application and recommends this 'retrospective over-development of the site' is referred to Cheshire East's enforcement officer for review.

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And ward councillor Hazel Faddes (Lab) has 'called-in' the application, hence it being up for consideration by the southern planning committee next month and not planning officers under delegated authority.

One worried neighbour told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that when an officer from building regulations saw the extension 'she couldn't believe her eyes'.

Planning enforcement then visited and eventually, in January of this year, a letter went to the property owners saying they had 28 days to apply for planning permission, or they had 28 days to demolish the extension.

Zeta Property took the first option.

The neighbour told the LDRS: "In April we got an email to say an application had gone in for a 13-bed HMO.

"This was just unimaginable.

"How can you build this in a back garden? We're devastated, we never saw this coming.

"These are beautiful family homes. That property was superb.

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"It already had an extension, but they [builders] extended the extension.

"What was a garden and greenhouse is now under a bed of concrete."

Some neighbours have lived in their homes on Sydney Road for about 40 years – a few even longer.

They staged a protest outside the property a few weeks ago.

Another neighbour, who was clearly upset, said: "We thought we were welcoming a family into the neighbourhood and that's not the case.

"It's the impact it's going to have on your wellbeing when you walk down your garden and there's so many people there and you don't know who they are."

She added: "It's a community of quite vulnerable people. A lot of the people are elderly."

The neighbours point out there is very little outdoor space for future residents of the property because the extension has swallowed up the garden.

"Even if 13 people could sit in the garden, the volume of noise that that would create," said another neighbour.

"They're going to need six industrial-sized bins for the front – the front is just going to be full of unsightly bins.

"It's not the right place for this."

A letter submitted to Cheshire East earlier this month on behalf of the applicant says: "The proposed HMO will be operated as a high-quality, responsibly managed form of accommodation, with the preferred outcome being occupation by a veterans' charity, and a professionally managed HMO for professional tenants as an alternative should that not be achievable."

The application, which also seeks retrospective permission for the extension, is scheduled to be considered by the southern planning committee on July 29, according to the council's website, although this date could change.

READ MORE: Crewe college celebrates 'extraordinary' staff at annual awards.

Crewe Nub News, supported by Crewe-based family business, Swansway Motor Group, has launched the Crewe Prize Draw.

The Crewe Prize Draw sees one winner take home a cash prize every fortnight, with every ticket purchased helping raise vital funds for community-based causes in Crewe.

The first draw takes place on Thursday 2 July. Buy a ticket for just £2.