The debate about the impact that houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are having on Bath continues this week, with the city’s MP invited to share her thoughts.
Holcombe Green in Bath
The Bath Echo has carried several stories in recent months in which residents and councillors have spoken of their concerns about the growing number of applications for HMOs in places such as Odd Down and Twerton.
The latest concern is for Weston in response to plans to turn a three-bed semi into accommodation for seven sharers.
In September we reported that a planning application for a “high-quality HMO” at Holcombe Green in Upper Weston had been submitted by Rivers Birtwell, a company specialising in accommodation for students and young professionals.
The change of use of No. 10 adds an extension so there are seven single bedrooms.
There is no off-street parking but storage for four bikes is proposed.
Bath & North East Somerset Council keeps a register of HMOs as it is acknowledged that a cumulative impact can significantly impact a neighbourhood.
No residential property should be ‘sandwiched’ by HMOs and no more than 10% of properties within a 100-metre radius should be in HMO use.
Rivers Birtwell has said there are currently no other HMOs within a 100-metre radius of No. 10 but this is challenged by two objectors on the council’s planning portal.
One says: “Area after area in Bath is changing from family neighbourhoods and community to transient student campuses. Once created it will not be undone as it’s too much of a cash cow.
“I also find the developers’ comment that HMO occupiers are less likely to have cars rather disingenuous – have you seen what you’ve done to Oldfield Park?”
They add: This overdevelopment of family homes must stop. As a resident of Bath, I object to having to pick up the council tax burden for rich developers that contribute nothing to the city but just seek to line their own pockets.”
Another local resident comments: “I’m not anti-student, however I trust that now developers clearly have their sights on ‘affordable’ areas of Weston, measures will be taken to ensure that student housing doesn’t saturate the neighbourhood, making family houses unaffordable as three-bed semis get converted into seven-bed accommodation.”
One objector says that having previously lived next door and opposite HMOs at Kingsway in the city, he urges the council to reject the Holcombe Green application “and send a firm message to all future applicants that Bath is already saturated with HMO and student accommodation and no matter the reason, no further cases will be approved”.
He continues: “The absolute disruption an HMO will bring to the poor neighbours on a day-to-day basis should not be underestimated…. Multiple cars will be brought into the village and parked up while their good neighbours are out and about getting on with their day. Only to return and being unable to park anywhere near to their homes; I have first-hand experience of this.
“But this objection is not about parking, it’s more than that. From first-hand experience, HMOs are busy, HMOs are dirty, HMOs are loud and will be so in the small hours of the night; everything an area with young families and the elderly will 100% not welcome.
“I lost count of the number of times I have had to visit the HMOs in the middle of night to ask them to quieten down or track down the owners/agents to provide feedback.
“That also applies to clearing up rubbish left strewn across the paths and roads.”
He adds: “I grew up in Oldfield Park, left when I was 21, and returned to the city 20 years later. What I found in Moorland Road, the once hub of Oldfield Park, was unrecognisable. Where were all the young families? They were all gone.
“What was left were the elderly and students; the place had been forever destroyed due to the greed of a few and lack of foresight from the previous councillors; HMOs absolutely everywhere and all of the families forced into the neighbouring two towns; heart-broken. If this HMO is approved, the very same thing will happen to Weston Village.”
He said he would be raising the issue directly with Bath’s MP Wera Hobhouse as the city is at “HMO saturation”, adding: “If we really do need more student accommodation, please make the universities at Claverton and Newton Park build on their own land, out of the way and not remove the scarce housing us poor Bath residents have been left to battle over.”
Rivers Birtwell also has a current application lodged with the council to increase the size of a HMO in Upper Weston.
Having secured planning permission to turn a mid-terrace family home at 20 Southlands into a six-bed HMO earlier this year, the developer now wants to split one of the bedrooms into two to create enough space for seven sharers. There is no off-street parking.
The Bath Echo asked the city’s Lib Dem MP about the concerns surrounding HMOs.
She told us: “It’s clear that the housing market has failed to deliver the affordable homes we need. I’ve been pushing the government to give councils the tools to address this crisis, and I’m hopeful the new government will take action.
“While HMOs can sometimes play a useful role in high-demand areas, standards must be high, and homes must remain suitable for residents.
“We’ve also seen a concerning rise in short-term rentals, which is putting pressure on family housing stock.
“Addressing these challenges to ensure people in Bath have access to high quality, sustainable and secure housing requires a long-term, coordinated effort between local councils and central government.”
