Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) are replacing family houses on a Guildford street, raising concerns about the disintegration of the local community.
Applegarth Avenue family homes have been converted into housing cooperatives. At a Guildford Borough Council Planning Committee meeting, four further HMOs on Applegarth Avenue were authorised.
A number of students and young professionals rent bedrooms in these buildings, frequently referred to as “house shares,” and share living quarters. Those who disagree that house sharing or HMOs may not have the same level of social cohesion as traditional neighbours are among them. There are presently 25 HMOs registered on Applegarth Avenue, a residential neighbourhood north of the Royal Surrey County Hospital, and two more are pending.
Five-bedroom residences that are being turned into seven-bedroom rental apartments are among the four distinct applications. There may be more HMOs on the street because only homes rented by five or more individuals need an HMO permit.
Will, who has spent 20 years living on the streets with his four kids, claimed that the area has lost its soul. Before the meeting, Will made the following statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It used to be full of families, but now it’s just people who leave to go to work and come back again.” There is only one “hi.”
An additional couple on the avenue mentioned that the neighbourhood watch program, which involved watching out for people, had disappeared. The two claimed that although they had urged HMO residents to participate in community gatherings in order to aid with integration, they had not made an effort to interact.
Since they can’t afford to buy a home, students and young professionals frequently choose to live in HMOs because of the freedom offered by these living arrangements.
“People are getting really tired of three-bedroom family homes being put up for sale and turned into HMOs,” Cllr. Howard Smith (Lab, Westborough) said during his speech against the separate applications in his ward at the meeting. He highlighted residents’ concerns, stating that the HMOs would change the character of the area and “lose the community” by making a street predominantly of groups of individual renters.
The committee felt that there was a higher need for tenants of individual units, and Cllr. Smith was not able to demonstrate the necessity for three-bedroom or family dwellings.
Council members expressed reluctance to endorse the applications and claimed they were having trouble coming up with a policy against it. Cllr. Maddy Redpath, the Residents for Guildford and Villages, Castle, stated, “In my gut, I’d say it’s too many,” although she noted that there was insufficient information.
Every local authority has different guidelines for HMOs by road. Officers informed that a trigger regulation prohibiting more than 70% of a street from being an HMO applies to Southampton, Portsmouth, Oxford, and Brighton. Should the pending applications be granted, there would be 31 HMOs, or sixteen percent of the homes on Applegarth Avenue.
Application records indicated that three to four parking places would be available for a seven-bedroom property, raising concerns about parking. Surrey Highways introduced requirements requiring each home to have at least three car parking places but did not object.
After the meeting, a disgruntled Cllr. Smith claimed that his ward’s Liberal Democrat council members and the panel as a whole are “out of touch” with the locals since they don’t seem to be concerned about their worries regarding HMOs.
“As long-standing residents of Westborough, Cllr Lowry (Lib Dem, Westborough) and I are aware of and deeply understand the concerns of residents about HMOs across our ward,” Julia McShane, the leader of the Lib Dem-run council and borough councillor for Westborough, said in response to criticism.
“A lot of the perceived issues with HMOs, like parking or antisocial behaviour, are problems that affect all communities and can be linked to all types of homes and property tenures,” Cllr. McShane continued. Problems can be resolved by bringing them before the council.
The Lib Dem administration is presenting a report to a council committee to examine HMO licensing. The delivery of additional homes at the Guildford Park Road site is another topic of discussion during the Full Council meeting.
In addition, the council leader stated, “I believe it is evident that we are advancing a commitment to not just listen to our constituents but to act, not only as Westborough residents and local council members but also as a part of the larger Lib Dem administration commissioning these studies. We are acting to make housing better for everyone, not just in our neighbourhood but throughout Guildford.
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