- An Article 4 Direction will come into place and cover the whole of County Durham later this year.
- An interim policy has been created to ensure there is clear guidance when determining House in Multiple Occupation applications, once the Article 4 comes into effect.
- Earlier this year, Cabinet approved consultation on the new policy to gather feedback from residents and local organisations.
- This feedback has now been incorporated into the policy and Cabinet will be asked to recommend that full council agrees to it being adopted.
An interim planning policy could soon be implemented across County Durham to prevent an overconcentration of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), following a consultation with residents and local organisations.
Last year, Durham County Council agreed to increase its coverage of Article 4 Directions for HMOs beyond Durham City and its surrounding areas, to cover the whole county. Coming into force in August, the move will mean that planning permission will be required to change any house into an HMO. As part of this, a planning policy was developed to ensure that there is clear guidance when determining such applications.
Policy 16 of the existing County Durham Plan was developed to address an overconcentration of student HMOs in Durham City, but elsewhere, most HMOs are not occupied by students. This interim policy hopes to fill that gap.
Following consultation on the new policy, the local authority’s Cabinet will be asked to recommend that full council agrees to it being adopted. The interim policy also hopes to protect the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers, and ensure HMOs provide a high standard of accommodation for those living in them.
Many of the responses to the consultation supported greater controls over HMO developments, such as managing their number and improving standards of accommodation. Respondents highlighted the loss of family housing, the increased strain and impact on local services, their fears and concerns over community safety, and the need for greater controls and oversight.
Consultation was also undertaken with bodies such as Historic England, Durham Constabulary, housing associations, and town and parish councils. Feedback from these consultations has been incorporated into the interim policy.
Cllr Dawn Bellingham, Cabinet member for communities and civic resilience, said: “We are pleased to see support for this interim policy that is being applied to prevent an overconcentration of HMOs in the county. Evidence has shown that they have been steadily increasing outside of the city, and we understand the concern this is causing.
“We have taken the feedback gathered during the consultation period on board to strengthen the policy, which should now address residents’ concerns more effectively. We believe the introduction of this policy will help us to maintain mixed and balanced communities across the county.”
The interim policy states that further HMOs will not be allowed where any of the ten nearest properties to the application site are already HMOs. Proposals are not to result in the ‘sandwiching’ of a residential property between either two HMO properties or an HMO and a property that is not a home.
The policy also introduces requirements that applications will not be approved where HMOs would make up more than 10 per cent of residential properties within a 100-metre radius of the application site.
The interim policy will apply alongside the existing County Durham Plan. A new County Durham Plan will be progressed and the policies for HMOs in Durham City, and across the county, will be reviewed as part of this process and will be subject to further consultation.
Cabinet will discuss the interim policy next week on Wednesday 1 July.
