Concern that Wellington risks being 'saturated' by shared houses
Wellington risks being “saturated” by shared houses and applications to convert properties into them need to be considered carefully because their quality varies, town councillors have heard.
An outside expert could be called in to brief Wellington Town Council’s Planning Committee on issues surrounding houses of multiple occupation, as committee vice-chairman Lisa Jinks said the area “seemed to be attracting a lot of development for HMOs”.
She and colleagues were discussing conversion plans, submitted by a private developer, to refit the existing workshops and first-floor flat in GTS House, The Lawns, Wellington, into three homes and one five-bedroom HMO.
The committee agreed to proposal, which Councillor Dorothy Roberts said would “be an asset to the area and tidy it up”.
Councillor Jink agreed but said, generally, “I don’t know if Wellington has started to become, sort of, saturated with this type of houses. I just think we’ve got to be careful considering HMOs.”
She listed four locations near The Lawns where HMO conversions were either planned or recently approved.
Councillor John Latter said he “did wonder a bit” when he saw the phrase “HMO” in the proposal, but said he didn’t have a problem with the particular application.
“We did approve a very similar thing at the other end of The Lawns a couple of meetings ago, actually,” he added.
Councillor Roberts: “I’ve said before I think it would be really good to have someone come to talk to us about these HMOs, because I think they vary.
“I would be very nice to have some more information.”
She said this information could be provided by a council or a social housing representative.
Councillor Latter said he lived in some shared houses when he was younger, and the quality of the property “really depends on the property of the landlord”.
Deputy town council clerk Andrew Roberts said: “I can raise a few enquiries and see if I can get a suitable candidate to come and address the committee to give an insight into HMOs generally.
“Let me make some enquiries and I can report back.”
Councillor Jinks thanked him for this, saying: “I think it would benefit us all in moving forward and deciding this type of application.”
Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning department will make the final decision about the GTS conversion plans at a later date.
