Renewed bid for controversial Oldbury HMO after rejections

A renewed bid to convert an Oldbury home into an HMO has been submitted again despite being rejected by council planners and a government inspector.

Sandwell Council rejected an application to convert a home in Wolverhampton Road, Oldbury, into a house of multiple occupation (HMO) for up to eight people in March and an appeal over the decision was thrown out by a government inspector last month.

A new application for a lawful development certificate to convert the home into a six-bed HMO has now been submitted to Sandwell Council.

Last month, Reform-led Sandwell Council introduced new rules requiring all new HMOs in Sandwell to go through the council’s planning process.

Until the rule change, homes across Sandwell could have been converted into a ‘small’ house of multiple occupation (HMO) – shared housing between three and six people – under permitted development rights and without first obtaining planning permission.

The article 4 direction means that every application for a house of multiple occupation (HMO) will now be forced to go through the local authority’s planning process to acquire approval.

The tighter restrictions have been brought in over concerns about the number and concentration of HMOs in the borough as well as concerns over parking, litter, crime and anti-social behaviour, changes to character of neighbourhoods and the loss of family housing.

The new rules do not ban HMOs in Sandwell and do not apply to existing HMOs.

A total of 38 objections were made against the work before Sandwell Council’s planners decided on the application earlier this year.

Throwing out the appeal, the planning inspector said the number of people in the HMO would lead to more noise for neighbours.

Rejecting the appeal in October, the government planning inspector said: “The proposed changes would increase the massing of the property and result in an unusually shaped side elevation, distinguishing the building from those around it.

“The works would considerably reduce the symmetry of the pair of semi-detached properties and would harm their appearance.

“The design would not be reflective of the predominant character of the area and would appear incongruous.

“The occupiers of a HMO would be more likely to live separate lives creating a greater number of comings and goings.”

Sandwell’s public health officers had objected to the application earlier this year saying the increase in people raised concerns about potential disturbance for neighbours.

“With multiple unrelated tenants, there is potential for frequent arrivals and departures at varying hours, including late at night and early in the morning,” the objection read. “This increased foot traffic, car movements, door slamming, conversations outside the property, and general activity raises concerns about disturbance, sleep disruption, and loss of residential amenity for neighbouring residential properties which may lead to complaint.”

The local authority’s planners also found concerns with the application saying it could lead to problems for neighbours.

Rejecting the application, the council added: “The application property is a modest semi-detached dwelling, where the existing level of activity would typically be associated with a single-family household in terms of noise, comings and goings, and the times at which these occur.

“In contrast, occupants of an HMO are likely to live largely independently of one another, resulting in an increase in the number and frequency of comings and goings, as well as visitors and deliveries.”