Cowdenbeath hotel could be turned into an HMO for nine people if plans approved

The Woodside Hotel on Cowdenbeath’s Broad Street could see some major changes in the near future.

King Enterprises, which is owned by businessman Asif Hussain, has submitted a planning application to turn the first floor of the local hotel into a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) unit for up to nine people.

The business currently operates as a hotel on the first floor and as a pub and kitchen on the ground floor. The application would transform the first floor into HMO housing instead.

However, the plans have made clear that no changes are proposed to the ground floor pub and kitchen – floor plans state that the “existing public bar area is not part of the planning application.”

The application is for a simple “change of use from a hotel to HMO premises,” according to the application. It would see the hotel turned into a shared housing unit with nine bedrooms and two shared bathrooms and a kitchen.

The application does not make clear why the hotel is seeking to change. Nor does it make any other reference to the ongoing business of the pub and kitchen.

The straightforward application is merely seeking permission to turn the nine-bed hotel into HMO housing.

This is not the first time King Enterprises has sought to turn an old business into an HMO. In 2022, the company received permission to change the use of the Lindsay Tavern in Kelty’s Main Street into an HMO unit for up to 14 people.

The local planning authority will consider the current Cowdenbeath application and make a decision in due course.