Latest news with #propertyconversion
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- 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@
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Durham County Council approves HMO rules
New planning rules which make it tougher for landlords to convert properties into shared housing have been Durham County Council has supported a proposal to introduce an Article 4 Direction, which requires owners to apply for planning permission when converting properties into Homes in Multiple Occupation (HMO).Currently, properties for between three and six occupants can be converted without planning permission. Campaigners said they were "absolutely thrilled" and added the changes would help to improve people's quality of life, following an increase in HMOs in certain areas. "This is going to be huge for the community, because people will now be able to know if the house next door is HMO, because they'll be notified," said Matthew Tough, the secretary of East Durham Communities Standing Together group, which has been calling for more regulations."They'll get a chance to object. If there's any parking concerns in the street, they'll be noted and recorded."Councillor Lyndsey Fox, cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said there had been a "steady increase" in HMOs outside of Durham City over the past few years, with the number rising more significantly since 2021."Residents have expressed concerns that the increase in HMOs is negatively impacting residential amenity and local character," Fox said. "In these circumstances, it is considered an Article 4 is needed to enable the proper planning of the county to maintain mixed and balanced communities by requiring planning applications to be submitted for HMO use." 'A lot safer' Article 4 regulations are currently in place in areas around Durham City popular with students, the Local Democracy Reporting Service East Durham Communities Standing Together group had warned an expansion of the rules was needed, as some of the county's most deprived areas were being targeted by private Tough added the county council would now be able to scrutinise proposed designs and call applications to committee so it could be debated."They can ensure that it's going to be safe for all parties involved - the tenants, the community. It'll just be a lot safer for everybody involved," he Nicola Lyons, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and environment, added that HMOs could provide an affordable form of accommodation for a wide range of groups."However, an overconcentration of this type of housing can have a negative impact on day-to-day life for communities, often because of issues such as increased noise, the general appearance of properties, refuse management, and parking issues," she new measures were approved at a cabinet meeting on Monday. A public consultation will be held before a final decision is made later this year. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
