Six-bed HMO approved despite local anger

A six-bed HMO in Royton has been given the greenlight by councillors, despite ‘anger and upset’ in the local community.

Property owner Footlong (UK) Ltd can extend a house at 3 Kevin Avenue to create a six-person house of multiple occupation.

But more than 40 neighbours have objected to the plans over fears HMOs are ‘eradicating family homes’.  The application was previously deferred by Oldham Council’s planning committee to gather information councillors felt was missing from the application. 

Local resident Angela Collier told the committee: “At the last meeting you said you didn’t know how many three and four bedroom HMOs there are. So I went out to check myself and it did shock me. There are 16 in the local area. 

“I also spoke to the people who live on the street. There was anger and upset. Family houses are being eradicated because of HMOs. 
“These are six individual people in a HMO. It’s not the same as a family.” 

Pictured: Planning Meeting (11/03). Angela Collier, resident of Kevin Avenue.

Royton councillor Jade Hughes added the presence of HMOs was ‘fostering a transient population’ not in keeping with the family-friendly feel of the neighborhood. The granting of a HMO could displace a family in a vulnerable position, according to the councillor.  

“Displacing them would not only disrupt their stability but would also overall diminish the overall integrity of the community,” Cllr Hughes said. 
Collier and a number of councillors previously raised concerns about parking, claiming they’d seen fire engines, ambulances, and waste refusal trucks struggle to get down the avenue. The street is known to be heavily crowded, with a parking permit scheme currently in place. 

But fears the HMO would be eligible for 12 permits turned out to be unfounded, with town planners confirming the household would be entitled to no parking permits due to an off-road parking space, and just two visitors’ passes. 

Town planners insisted the council had no legal basis to refuse the application, saying: “Given there’s no localised concentration of HMOs and the property is in an established residential area and sustainable location, the introduction of a HMO is not incompatible with the character of the area. There is no justifiable basis on which to refuse the application.” 

Councillors initially proposed deferring the application a second time to confirm the concentration of HMOs in the area. This was lost by one vote over fears the landlord would simply be able to appeal their decision due to ‘non-determination’ – when the council takes too long to decide on an application – which can be costly for the council. 

A proposal to approve the application won by a narrow majority of one due to the chair’s vote counting as double when votes are tied.