Plans for Shotton HMO rejected amid community concerns

Plans to create a five-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Shotton have been refused due to concerns communities are being turned into “ghettos”.

An application was submitted in May this year to convert an existing four-bedroom family home on Rowden Street to accommodate six people.

Objections were raised against the proposals by Shotton Town Council and several neighbouring residents, who said it would lead to there being too many HMOs on the same street.

HMOs are properties rented out by three people or more who are not from the same household, but share facilities like a bathroom or kitchen.

Fears about the development’s impact were echoed by members of Flintshire Council’s planning committee when they met to discuss the proposals.

It came despite the authority’s chief planning officer backing the scheme for approval after telling councillors there was only one existing HMO on the street.

However, Connah’s Quay Central councillor Bernie Attridge (Ind) spoke against the application after he claimed the council did not have an accurate record of the number of HMOs in the county.

He said the amount of HMOs in the Deeside area was having a negative effect, leading to parking problems and rubbish being dumped in the streets.

He said: “The local community councillors have had enough of HMOs and the waste that is strewn all over our streets, making them look like ghettos.

“For anyone that knows the road, there’s not a single place for off street parking.

“It’s about time we said enough is enough until we know exactly where all these HMOs are.”

Flintshire’s chief planning officer Andrew Farrow recommended the proposals should go ahead before last Wednesday’s (September 3, 2024) committee meeting.

He said in a report that the development would not have a harmful impact and was in a “highly sustainable” location.

But acting council leader Dave Hughes (Lab) also slammed the problems caused by HMOs, describing the situation as “a disgrace”.

He said: “To have more HMOs go in there, it’s a disgrace really. With the way we’re going now, we’re opening the door for anybody that’s got a large house to turn it into an HMO.”

Cllr Chris Bithell, Labour cabinet member for planning, backed the proposals as he said more accommodation was needed to prevent single people from becoming homeless.

He said: “I can understand the concerns over this, and it’s been an issue we’ve wrestled with as an authority for some time.

“But some of us were looking at a report yesterday from housing, which spells out the problem that we have as a county with regard to homelessness.

“Top of the pile in terms of those people who are homeless are not families but single people.

“There’s simply nowhere for them to actually obtain a roof over their head, and we can’t ignore that.”

The plans were refused by ten votes to four at the end of the debate.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter