Plan for 'poor quality' HMO for up to 17 people on family road kicked out
City planners issued a scathing report as they turned down a proposal to convert a property on Etwall Road, a five-bedroom family home in Hall Green, into a nine-bed HMO.
Dozens of neighbours objected, with concerns ranging from anti-social behaviour, noise, overlooking and the loss of privacy to parking and traffic concerns.
READ MORE: UK households risk £200 fine for binning toothpaste tubes ahead of new bin rules
READ MORE: England fans face £500 fine for wearing Lionesses shirts for Euro 2025
READ MORE: Birmingham bin strike latest as solidarity 'megapicket' halts waste wagons
Backed by Coun Timothy Huxtable, locals also worried about the loss of a family home, the close proximity to a nursery and the overdevelopment of the site.
The council agreed with their complaints and refused the application citing lack of parking and that development would be "poor quality living accommodation."
Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join
The decision read: "The proposed change of use of the property would result in the loss of a five-bedroom family dwelling house, and insufficient justification has been provided to demonstrate that the need for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in this location outweighs the important contribution this dwelling makes to the council's objectives, strategies and policies relating to housing provision."
The report went on: "The occupation of the property as an HMO by up to 17 people would result in a demonstrable increase in the numbers of comings and goings from the site and a greater level of noise and disturbance in comparison to the existing use as a family dwelling house.
"The proposed HMO would not, therefore, be appropriate to this location as it would result in unacceptable adverse impacts on the amenity of neighbouring occupiers."
Coun Huxtable said: "I'm really pleased this application has been refused as it would have detrimentally changed the whole character of the area and caused additional traffic problems to those already faced by local residents."
We have a suite of newsletters, tailored to your needs. They include Birmingham Politics, Nostalgia, Court and Crime Updates and, of course, BirminghamLive Daily - the biggest stories of the day sent at morning, lunch and evening.
There are also local ones like Black Country News, MySolihull and MySuttonColdfield. Choose which newsletters best suit you.
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in the region.
And finally, if there is a story you think our journalists should be looking into, we want to hear from you. Email us on newsdesk@birminghammail.co.uk.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Plan for 'poor quality' HMO for up to 17 people on family road kicked out
A planning application for an HMO which would have been occupied by up to 17 people has been refused. City planners issued a scathing report as they turned down a proposal to convert a property on Etwall Road, a five-bedroom family home in Hall Green, into a nine-bed HMO. Dozens of neighbours objected, with concerns ranging from anti-social behaviour, noise, overlooking and the loss of privacy to parking and traffic concerns. READ MORE: UK households risk £200 fine for binning toothpaste tubes ahead of new bin rules READ MORE: England fans face £500 fine for wearing Lionesses shirts for Euro 2025 READ MORE: Birmingham bin strike latest as solidarity 'megapicket' halts waste wagons Backed by Coun Timothy Huxtable, locals also worried about the loss of a family home, the close proximity to a nursery and the overdevelopment of the site. The council agreed with their complaints and refused the application citing lack of parking and that development would be "poor quality living accommodation." Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join The decision read: "The proposed change of use of the property would result in the loss of a five-bedroom family dwelling house, and insufficient justification has been provided to demonstrate that the need for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in this location outweighs the important contribution this dwelling makes to the council's objectives, strategies and policies relating to housing provision." The report went on: "The occupation of the property as an HMO by up to 17 people would result in a demonstrable increase in the numbers of comings and goings from the site and a greater level of noise and disturbance in comparison to the existing use as a family dwelling house. "The proposed HMO would not, therefore, be appropriate to this location as it would result in unacceptable adverse impacts on the amenity of neighbouring occupiers." Coun Huxtable said: "I'm really pleased this application has been refused as it would have detrimentally changed the whole character of the area and caused additional traffic problems to those already faced by local residents." We have a suite of newsletters, tailored to your needs. They include Birmingham Politics, Nostalgia, Court and Crime Updates and, of course, BirminghamLive Daily - the biggest stories of the day sent at morning, lunch and evening. There are also local ones like Black Country News, MySolihull and MySuttonColdfield. Choose which newsletters best suit you. You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in the region. And finally, if there is a story you think our journalists should be looking into, we want to hear from you. Email us on newsdesk@
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Anti-social behaviour concerns over impact of new building at children's home
Anti-social behaviour has been cited as a possible concern as councillors considered a planning application. Weymouth Town Council's Planning and Licensing Committee heard that residents in Wyke Regis are concerned about proposals to 'erect an outbuilding in the rear garden of a property in the area to be used in connection with the authorised use of the site as a children's residential home.' An email sent by Cllr Gill Taylor was read out to the meeting. It said: 'I have had a resident concerned about the following application. This property is managed by children's services and houses young people who need a high level of support. There have been problems with anti-social behaviour from the residents in the past which sounds to me may have not been well managed. 'I have been told that there's a well-used lane behind where they are intending to put the building and on the other side of the lane is an outbuilding where the young person uses a drum kit.' According to planning documents, the children's' residential home provides attachment and trauma-informed care to one child or young person aged 7-17. The proposed building would be located in the rear garden area of the property and would have dimensions of 4.19m x 3.28m with a maximum height of 2.5m. It would replace an existing outbuilding in the rear garden area as shown on the block plan. The proposed outbuilding will be used to support the child in the care of the client on site, to recover from the impacts of adversity, trauma, abuse and neglect and if approved would create a separate space from the living environment for 'teaching' of the on-site resident. The building would not be used to 'house' additional children but to improve services on offer to the child on site to aid their care and support. Cllr Simon Clifford said: 'My view is that we have got no scope to do anything to reject this but perhaps make a comment saying make sure that noise is kept to a minimum or something along those lines.' Cllr Jon Orrell added: 'I agree that we wouldn't want to reject this as it's important that children are looked after and have a bit of space. It does seem to be quite a decent sized plot. Make sure it's approved with conditions such as being well-monitored and sound proofed. 'It's quite helpful that they have a sensory room for children with disturbed behaviour because they can get away from the situation and calm down – so in many ways it ought to be a means of improving the situation rather than making it worse.' Weymouth Town Council supported the planning application, but commented that 'the home needs to be aware of its responsibilities to its local neighbourhood, including disturbance, anti-social behaviour and noise.' Dorset Council will have the final say on the application.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Dear Richard Madeley: ‘I'm sick of my neighbours' children throwing balls into my garden'
Dear Richard, I've always got on well with my next-door neighbours and I am fond of their children, but when they (the kids) play in their back garden, which is, naturally, adjacent to mine, after school and at weekends, a constant stream of missiles – balls of various sizes, Nerf darts, Frisbees and so on – comes raining over the fence. Said fence is too high for small people to climb over (plus if they managed it they'd land in my herbaceous border) and I am reluctant to put a gate in it, so I'm expected to answer the door and let them come through the house to retrieve their equipment. I don't mind this once in a while, and may even have occasionally indulged them with the offer of a biscuit as they passed through the kitchen. But in the warmer months it's happening more and more, and while I work from home I am often in virtual meetings and can't easily leave them, which is not a concept the children seem to understand. I don't want their playful instincts to be repressed but I am starting to mind this. There's a kind of netting fence that could be installed for around £100 – would it be very passive-aggressive of me to ask my (adult) neighbours to contribute to this? — G, Surrey Dear G, As I have said here many times before, it is worth doing back-handsprings through hoops to stay on good terms with one's neighbours. If relationships sour, they can be very, very difficult to restore. There's a tendency for the original dispute to escalate and mushroom into others, and before you know it you're grappling with a many-headed hydra of hostility and resentment with people who have the power to make your daily life a misery. So if you are, as you say, currently on good terms with the folk next door, let's do all we can to preserve the status quo, shall we? A little patience, tolerance and generosity of spirit now will pay dividends further down the line, I guarantee. As far as I can see, you have two options. Install a little gate in the dividing fence so the kids next door can nip in and retrieve their ball, Frisbee or whatever, without disturbing you. Or, as you say, put up some netting. The next step is to involve your neighbours in the decision. Either pop round or drop them a note. Be friendly. Don't say you're getting fed up with their kids disturbing your work by hammering on the door; tell them you've had an idea which means their children can play uninterrupted – a net to keep their toys on their side of the fence, or a little gate so they can nip through without having to come all the way round to your front door. Make it sound like the kiddies are your priority. (The end result will be the same whatever, won't it?) Say whichever option your neighbours prefer, you're happy to organise it. Then casually mention that if they'd be willing to go halves on the cost, that would be much appreciated. If they're the pleasant pair you say they are, I'd be very surprised if they baulked at that. There you go, G. When it comes to dealing with neighbours, always follow the 3-D rule: diplomacy; diplomacy; diplomacy. You can find more of Richard Madeley's advice here or submit your own dilemma below. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword