A move to turn a former pub into an HMO that was scaled down after complaints about parking will be decided by planners.

The application by Kerry Harris would see the former Berwick Arms pub on the corner of Bath Road and Stanley Street become a three-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO).

The city council’s planning committee meets next Thursday (October 19) to make a decision – with a recommendation from council officers that it is approved.

The former pub was converted into a home several years ago but a move to convert it into an eight-bed HMO was rejected by Worcester City Council earlier this year after a number of complaints from neighbours about parking.

READ MORE: More details about plan for new town near Worcestershire Parkway

A revised scheme was then put forward – which more than halved the number of rooms – following talks with the council over its fears the project was too big and would lead to parking problems.

Worcestershire County Council’s highways department called for the eight-bed plan to be turned down because it did not provide enough parking to serve the people living in the potential new HMO.

The county council later retracted its objection when the number of rooms was whittled down to three.

READ MORE: West Mercia Police say proposed recycling plant could damage evidence

The current home has two parking spaces and no extra room would have been provided under the eight-bed HMO proposals – despite highways officers saying the new HMO plan would need at least four to meet standards.

Providing two spaces would meet the council’s rules on parking for a three-bed home.

READ MORE: Knowles in Broad Street set to be replaced by new restaurant and flats

The Berwick Arms closed in early 2011 and stayed empty until plans by developer Peter Styles to turn the former watering hole into a four-bed house were backed by the city council two years later.

The plans for an eight-bed HMO attracted a number of objections from neighbours who said two parking spaces were nowhere near enough for the number of people that could be living there.

One resident in Bath Road said parking was already a problem with many choosing to leave cars across double yellow lines.

The committee meets in the Guildhall from 3pm on October 19.