Property owners who rent out their homes as private party venues could face planning enforcement action by Kirklees Council.
Homes which are hired out as commercial ‘party venues’ generally require planning consent to allow a business to be operated from the premises, the council has warned.
The warning comes after complaints were made about rowdy behaviour at a luxury house in Holmfirth which was rented out to hen parties.
Neighbours told how they had to endure ‘six weekends of hell’ due to noisy and drunken parties at the six-bedroom house on Burnlee Road.
One neighbour complained that having to listen to “14-20 screaming girls/women” every weekend had left her feeling physically ill.
The council has now issued a statement to the Examiner about what action it took to deal with complaints about noisy parties at Burnlee Road.
Paul Kemp, service director at Kirklees Council, said: “After receiving reports of the house being used as a commercial party venue the council contacted the property owner and advised that they did not have the relevant planning permission to operate this business from the premises.
“The owner agreed to stop using the property in this way and to cancel all future bookings - as such no further action was required.
“In most circumstances where a home is being used as a ‘party venue’ it would require planning consent. Whilst the council will always engage with the owner to resolve the issue in the first instance, we will and have previously used our enforcement powers when it has been necessary.”
Householders who complained welcomed the council’s approach.
One property owner, who did not want to be named, said it was good to hear that the council was taking seriously the issue of ‘party houses’.
“I understand that a lot of people (in Huddersfield) are having problems with these party house premises. It’s important that all residents get together and make their views known to their local councillor and to Kirklees Council.”
In Burnlee Road, residents discovered last month that a house was being advertised online as “the perfect location for your hen/girly weekend” with prices from £185 per person to £339pp for a two-night stay.
After complaints were made, the homeowners apologised to neighbours and said they had been “naive” not to have realised the problems it would cause.
The property, which was listed online as Hillside View Spa, has since been removed from the Celebration Cottages website. It has since been put up for sale, according to neigbours.
A spokesman for Holmfirth-based Celebration Cottages said the council was wrong to suggest such properties were 'party venues' when in fact they were booked for all kinds of gatherings including family events and holidays.
He added: "The council were wrong to suggest that the property was a party venue and did not look into any of the bookings as most of the bookings for the year were family groups.
"They jumped to this conclusion before asking for a list of all the bookings taken.
"Over 2.5 million holiday lets would be in breach of planning in the UK if this was the case.
"If you book a holiday let for a birthday celebration with your family then the council are suggesting this isn’t a holiday let and needs planning.
"Holiday lets that cause a disturbance should be dealt with by environmental health not planning. The council have got this the wrong way around."
He added: "As an agency we take bookings for anniversaries, family gatherings, family celebrations - just the same as Sykes Cottages and other large holiday let agencies. They are not party houses and just simply holiday lets."
