Councillors have agreed to strengthen the approach to HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) in Bassetlaw following an extraordinary meeting in the district.

At a meeting of extraordinary council on Thursday, (July 31), councillors voted unanimously in favour of instructing council officers to begin the process of introducing Article 4 directions.

The meeting had been called to debate a motion proposed by Reform UK group leader Coun Fraser McFarland, which called for a full review of the council’s planning and licensing policy relating to houses of multiple occupation (known as HMOs).

Councillor McFarland said the motion was in response to rising concerns from residents regarding the increasing number of HMOs, with concerns including issues such as “antisocial behaviour, insufficient parking, waste and bin problems, and the degradation of balanced, family-friendly neighbourhoods”.

Bassetlaw residents and councillors at the extraordinary meeting.

placeholder image — Bassetlaw residents and councillors at the extraordinary meeting.

He said: “Residents across Bassetlaw have been raising serious concerns about HMOs for some time — and it’s clear that action is needed.

“This motion is about giving power back to local communities, tightening up a planning system that currently allows too many conversions without any say from neighbours, and protecting the character and liveability of our streets.”

Following the meeting, these powers will remove permitted development rights for changes of use for HMOs that house between four and six people in areas of Bassetlaw where evidence shows a significant growth or a concentration of HMOs.

This means that before houses of multiple occupation can be created, where an Article 4 direction is in place, a planning application will need to be submitted to the council for a decision to be made.

Bassetlaw Council's extraordinary meeting on HMOs, held on Thursday, July 31. Image shared by Reform UK Coun Fraser McFarland.

This additional process allows for greater consultation of residents where HMOs are proposed to be located and provides greater transparency of the planning process.

Coun Julie Leigh, leader of Bassetlaw Council, said: “We have seen the strength of feeling from residents in the district who would like to know where HMOs are proposed and for councils to have greater control of where HMOs are located.

“The introduction of more Article 4 Directions can help to manage HMOs in the most appropriate way in Bassetlaw.”

The council already has processes in place to manage the development of HMOs including an Article 4 direction that has been in place in Worksop since June 2020.

In addition to powers contained within the council’s Local Plan, and other planning related policies.

According to the council, Bassetlaw has a total of 57,690 homes.

Their data indicates that there are 169 houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) of various sizes.

This means that HMOs account for less than 0.3 per cent of all dwellings in Bassetlaw.

While councillors agreed that there should be greater powers on how HMOs should be managed, it was recognised that HMOs are “essential” in terms of providing a specific type of housing accommodation.

Coun Leigh added: “Not everyone can afford to rent a whole property or buy their own home.

“Without HMOs many of our residents would not have a home at all.

“These can include young people who have recently left care, people who have moved here to work, students, couples who have split up and people whose financial resources mean that they cannot afford to rent or buy a whole property.

“We believe that an Article 4 direction is an essential part of managing the whole of Bassetlaw and recognise that HMOs should be managed in the same way as other applications that sit outside the realms of permitted development and have now taken further steps to do this.”

In the extraordinary council meeting, a number of amendments were proposed to the original motion and after these were accepted, councillors voted unanimously to carry the motion forward.