Controversial planning application could see green light

A controversial planning application to turn a former health centre into a 20-bed HMO has reportedly been recommended for approval after some amendments were made to the floorplans. 

Developers Safina Ghaus and Mehtab Shaukat intend to turn the former Crompton Health Centre on Shaw High Street into a shared housing unit with 20 bedrooms arranged around two kitchens and a central communal area. 

The building has stood vacant since it was deemed ‘unfit’ to be a medical practice in 2024, prompting GPs to move into the newly-established Shaw and Crompton Health Centre on Westway. Ghaus and Shaukat previously submitted an application to turn the unused structure into a 22-bed HMO, a type of shared housing where numerous unrelated tenants live together and often share amenities. 

But the plans sparked outrage in the local community. Protestors gathered outside the former health centre, claiming their town was being ‘overrun by HMOs’. 

Oldham planners rejected the first plans, stating they would result in ‘substandard living standards’ for future residents due to ‘inadequate levels of natural lighting and insufficient kitchen and dining facilities’. 

But a new application may be recommended for approval by town planners, after conversations with the council resulted in the developers amending their floor plans earlier this month. 

The new blueprint includes two shared kitchens in the centre of the building, replacing a dining area in the original plans. The shared kitchens would replace individual kitchen units built into each of the bedrooms. The rooms would all still contain a kitchen sink and en-suite bathrooms. 

The developers have promised the ‘premises will be of outstanding quality, with careful attention to detail in both design and operation’. The management would include round the clock CCTV and regular inspections, they said in a statement. 

The application has received more than 100 objections to date. 

One local wrote: “I strongly objected to the initial proposal, and my opinion hasn’t changed with the revisions. We have two HMOs currently along the high street. It fills my heart with absolute dread at the prospect of having a third, especially on such a large scale. 

“We are a small town which is being overpopulated.” 

Others have raised concerns about the impact of a more ‘transient population’ on the local neighborhood and the strain on ‘already stretched’ local resources like GPs and dentists. 

The application was due to be decided by July 16 but is still awaiting decision.

Crompton Health Centre. Credit: Google Maps.