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Search the Public Notice PortalRibble Valley Council's deputy leader has said new planning controls for small Houses in Multiple Occupation were driven by concerns raised by residents in her ward and elsewhere in the borough.
Councillors approved a borough-wide Article 4 Direction requiring planning permission for new small HMOs at a Planning and Development Committee meeting on August 27.
The direction came into force at midnight on August 28.
It removes permitted-development rights which previously allowed a family home to be converted into a small HMO, housing between three and six unrelated people, without planning permission. Larger HMOs already require planning consent.
Cllr Susan Bibby, who proposed the motion, said calls for greater control had followed concerns in her ward of Wilpshire and Ramsgreave, as well as concerns raised by a councillor and resident in Longridge.
She said: “My request was driven by concerns raised locally in my own ward of Wilpshire and Ramsgreave, and then in Longridge, from the councillor there and a resident, really just around the changes that we’re seeing in our communities.
“I’d heard about a house conversion and possible change of use to an HMO in a residential area of Wilpshire, and asked our officers immediately for a Ribble Valley Council policy to cover the issue going forward.”
The deputy leader said officers had acted quickly and brought the proposal to committee, where it received unanimous backing.
Cllr Bibby stressed that HMOs could fulfil a legitimate housing need, but said planning control was needed so the council could assess the possible impact of individual proposals on neighbourhoods.
She said: “HMOs do have a legitimate purpose in providing accommodation to people who need it.
“But my request was about the need to consider the impact on housing mix, noise, disturbance, on-street parking, negative impacts on the physical environment, residential amenity and waste management.”
She added that there was also a need to avoid “imbalanced and unsustainable communities” caused by a shift from family homes to more transient accommodation.
The direction does not prevent new HMOs from being created. Instead, it means landlords and developers must submit a planning application before converting a property into a small HMO.
Cllr Bibby said: “All the Article 4 is, is so that people are asked to put a planning application in before anything.
“That doesn’t mean that it won’t be allowed later on. It’s just to make sure that planning is considered when somebody wants to convert a home.”
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Ribble Valley had not previously had an Article 4 Direction because it had relatively few HMOs, but Cllr Bibby said the policy was needed as a precaution.
Council officers had warned that tighter HMO restrictions in neighbouring areas could make Ribble Valley more attractive to landlords and developers, creating what the authority described as possible “consequential displacement issues”.
The immediate direction now applies across the borough. The council must consult on it and formally confirm it within six months if it is to remain in force permanently. Comments can be submitted until 5pm on September 18.
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