Councillors Warn Swansea Communities Being Dismantled by Rise in HMOs

COUNCILLORS have claimed a settled community in Swansea is being dismantled and becoming transient due to an increase in the number of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).

Cllrs Hayley Gwilliam and Joe Hale were speaking against proposals for a six-bedroom HMO on Danygraig Road, Port Tennant, at a council planning committee meeting.

It was one of two HMO applications – the other in Clydach – that ended up being approved by councillors.

Port Tennant and neighbouring St Thomas have seen more HMOs over the last decade following the construction of Swansea University’s Bay Campus two miles to the east. More recently the University of Wales Trinity Saint David Waterfront Campus has been built in nearby SA1.

A developer called Behind the Corner Ltd had sought permission to turn the Danygraig Road property, whose ground floor is an empty takeaway, into an eight-bedroom HMO but this was refused by the council last December.

The company reduced the number of bedrooms to six in the current application, creating more communal space for future occupiers. The application was recommended for approval by planning officers, subject to conditions including that it must be limited to a maximum of six people.

Officers said a six-bedroom HMO would create a demand for three parking spaces, and that one off-road space would be provided at the rear of the property.

The application led to 43 letters of objection and a petition with 42 signatures. Objectors claimed it could lead to noise and anti-social behaviour and felt there were too many HMOs in the area, but planning officers said it did not go against planning policy as it would not result – but only just – in a 10% threshold of HMOs within a 50m radius.

Addressing the committee Cllr Gwilliam, who represents the St Thomas ward, said many people living there were now transient and that parties, parking obstructions and rubbish associated with HMOs were leaving other residents frightened and upset.

She said these properties were often bought by landlords with no affiliation to the area, and that housing was lost for local people and rents pushed up as a result. “I feel it (the application) would have a detrimental impact,” she said.

Fellow ward councillor Joe Hale, who’s not originally from the area unlike Cllr Gwilliam, said what his colleague was witnessing was the “dismantling of her community”.

He added: “I do feel along with Cllr Gwilliam very disturbed by a process that allows a settled community to become a transient community.” He added: “We put more value on bricks and mortar than people.”

Cllrs Richard Lewis and Alan Jeffery, both committee members, spoke against the application while Cllr Phil Downing said if it had led to the 10% HMO threshold being exceeded “by 0.1%” he would vote against it.

A planning officer said the council did not have control over the future occupants of the proposed HMO, but suggested they might not be transient. The committee voted to approve the application by nine votes to two.

There are around 2,000 HMOS in Swansea. Some, but not all, need to be licensed.

Two Clydach councillors, Brigitte Rowlands and Matthew Bailey, addressed the planning committee later with their objections to plans for a five-bedroom HMO including shared living space on Bryn Road, Clydach.

The council had refused a proposal for a six-bedroom HMO at the property just three months ago.

The committee heard the five-bedroom HMO would be the only HMO within a 50m radius and that the council didn’t consider that it would give rise to highway concerns.

A public meeting about the application was held in Clydach on September 1, the day before the planning meeting, and 20 letters of objection and a petition with 139 signatures were sent to the council.

Objectors felt Bryn Road was not suitable for a HMO and could create an unwanted precedent. There were also fears it might be used as a rehabilitation unit for offenders, potentially sex offenders.

“The strength of feeling is very clear,” said Cllr Bailey. “Residents are deeply concerned about the impact this proposal would have on the community.”

Cllr Rowlands claimed the proposed HMO would undermine people’s enjoyment of their homes nearby and place an “unacceptable strain” on parking, resulting in “ruination of the community”.

Concerns were also raised in the meeting about building materials left outside the property.

Planning officers recommended the HMO for approval with conditions including that it must be for a maximum of five people. The committed voted in favour of the recommendation by eight votes to three.