HMO conversions to be heavily restricted in areas of Preston

Proposed article 4 direction area for HMO developments in Preston

New bedsits could effectively be banned from a large part of Preston under proposed changes to local planning policy.

It comes as figures reveal there are more than 900 so-called houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in the city, which Preston City Council says are having a negative impact on the “quality of life” of residents – including by causing parking problems and sometimes attracting antisocial behaviour.

If approved, the new system would see the current, automatic approval of smaller bedsit conversions scrapped across Preston’s main urban core – with planning permission always being required, regardless of the size of the proposed development.

Within the same area, town hall planners would assess all HMO applications from a starting point that they would not normally be permitted – thereby putting an effective block on any more being added to the tally in the areas where they are most common.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that “exceptional need” would have to be demonstrated in order for a new bedsit development to be approved.

The rules would cover a huge swathe of Preston bound by the M55 in the north, Edith Rigby Way (the Preston Western Distributor link road) in the west, the M6 in the east and the River Ribble in the south – along with the proposed Bartle Garden Village area.

HMOs – also known as house shares – are properties where three or more people from different households live together and share amenities like the kitchen and bathroom.

The twin-pronged approach to deter their continued proliferation in Preston will see the expansion of what is known as the “article 4 direction area” that already exists in parts of the city.

Currently, under national planning regulations, the creation of HMOs with six bedrooms or fewer is classed as “permitted development”, meaning planning permission does not have to be sought from the local authority – except in areas where an article 4 order applies.

Preston City Council put an article 4 direction in place in relation to HMOs across much of Plungington and parts of the Frenchwood and Fishwick, City Centre, Deepdale and Ashton wards back in 2012. It is now planning to expand it throughout the entire urban part of the city.

In a double lock on the development of bedsits, the new Central Lancashire Local Plan – the policy, not yet adopted, that will dictate housebuilding across Preston, Chorley and South Ribble until the early 2040s – states that proposals to convert properties into HMOs or expand existing ones “will not be permitted” in Preston’s broadened article 4 area.

The number of bedsits in Preston has ballooned in recent years, with 214 HMOs being added to the council-held register between 2021 and 2023. As of November last year, the overall tally stood at 917.

The highest concentration of HMOs is found in the City Centre ward, where there are 311 – almost double that in the area with the second largest number, Plunginton, which has 157. Significant numbers are also located in Deepdale (87), Cadley, (76) and Greyfriars (69) – while there are none in the Preston Rural North and Preston Rural East wards. Large volumes of HMOs are being used for student accommodation within some Preston postcodes.

Neither of the proposed new planning policies would affect properties already operating as HMOs, nor would any other permitted development rights – such as small extensions or loft conversions – be removed from properties that fall into the article 4 patch.

If approved, it would be a year before the expanded article 4 area would come into force, ending HMO permitted development rights, while the new local plan – and its proposed HMO rules – is not due to be adopted until the end of 2026.

What about HMOs in Chorley and South Ribble – and the rest of Preston?

HMO conversions will still be allowed in Chorley and South Ribble once the new Central Lancashire Local Plan takes effect – as they will in the more rural parts of Preston where the article 4 direction would not apply. Outlying areas of the city are thought to be “self-regulating” when it comes to limiting HMOs to a reasonable number.

In Chorley, South Ribble and rural Preston, bedsit developments with fewer than six bedrooms would still be considered permitted development – and so would not need planning permission. However, larger HMOs would be subject to formal council approval – decisions over which would be dictated by a more stringent set of criteria than currently applies.

The proposed rules are designed to reduce the impact of HMOs in the areas where they created and would ensure any properties being converted:

***would not ‘sandwich’ another dwelling between two HMO’s, nor create a row of three or more adjoining HMO’s;

***would provide appropriate facilities for the storage and screening of household waste;

***would provide adequate levels of car parking, reflecting the site’s location, the number of residents and local road conditions;

***would enable ‘active travel’, by providing covered cycle storage for use by occupiers;

***would not require substantial extension for their new HMO use.

Applications for HMO conversion in Central Lancashire would also have to satisfy general rules about housing conditions – meaning the properties must provide “a good standard of daylight, sunlight, outlook, privacy and amenity for all existing and future occupants”. They should also “protect or enhance the character of the existing building and the surrounding area”, which would be judged by an assessment of their design and scale.

Chorley and South Ribble councils have already adopted minimum amenity standards and conditions for HMOs to ensure that house share properties provide a safe and healthy residential environment.

HMOs: what’s the problem?

According to the draft Central Lancashire Local Plan, the volume of HMOs within some of Preston’s inner city wards have caused “substantial harm” to the character of the areas and the “amenity of existing residents”.

A city council report assessing the evidence for the proposed removal of permitted development rights in Preston states that the increase in population density generated by HMOs “puts pressure on the streetscape and physical environment”.

“Clusters of HMOs can cause pressures on parking provision, waste facilities and community facilities,” it adds.

The assessment also concludes that the “transient nature” of some bedsit residents can lead to communities becoming “balanced and unsustainable”. It found that some parts of Preston are “overpopulated with HMOs occupied by vulnerable adults” – some of whom have no connection to Preston and subsequently end up homeless, having originally arrived in the city to take up a supported housing place in a bedsit development.

Analysis of the reasons people living in HMOs in Preston gave for applying to move into housing association accommodation in the city found concerns about antisocial behaviour at their current address were mentioned by 85 individuals on the waiting list for a new home – while the condition of their present property was cited by 43 people.

Last year, a review of the Fishergate Hill and Avenham conservation areas found that HMOs were having a “noticeable visual impact”, because of the number of bins, cars and ‘To Let’ signs they generated. It also warned that the “traditional features” of some properties in the Avenham area – including the style of their doors and windows – were being lost as a result of HMO conversion.

Meanwhile, members of Chorley Council’s planning committee have recently expressed concern that the town centre is becoming “inundated” with HMOs, while one recent application was blasted for the proposed size of its rooms – with a councillor on the committee saying there were bigger dog kennels.

How to have your say

Both of the proposals for new HMO rules are now subject to separate public consultations – the article 4 expansion within Preston as an issue in its own right and the suggested refusal of permission for HMOs within that area, and the criteria for when they will be allowed in other places, as part of the Central Lancashire Local Plan.

Drop-in events where more information about the article 4 plans for Preston can be obtained are being held on:

13th March, at Preston Town Hall, from 3pm to 7pm;

20th March, at Fulwood Methodist Church, from 3pm to 7pm.

To respond to the article 4 consultation – by 7th April – visit: preston.gov.uk/article4directionconsultation

The Central Lancashire Local Plan consultation is open until midnight on 14th April and can be accessed at: centrallocalplan.citizenspace.com/planning/cllp-regulation-19-representation-period/consultation/intro/

Paper copies of the form can also be downloaded and should be returned to: Regulation 19 Consultation, Planning Policy Team, Third Floor, Town Hall, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 2RL.

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