Fears over student home proposal for ‘party flats’

Planners have recommended the Grove Street application be approved. Picture: Ian Georgeson

An application for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) licence at 31 Grove Street has been recommended for approval – sparking anger and worry amongst fed-up residents.

Planners said giving the go-ahead meant the property – expected to be occupied by students – would be subject to tough legislation aimed at protecting locals from noise and other forms of disturbance.

And a second HMO application for 16 Grove Street is poised to be knocked back amid concern it would lead toan over-concentration of large shared flats.

We revealed last year how two flats in the street had been repeatedly rented out to 20-strong stag and hen parties, resulting in a flood of complaints.

Council chiefs later seized control of the properties after a ground-breaking court case in which they secured the “rights and obligations of a landlord”.

Neighbours are unhappy at the possibility that one of the apartments could become a licensed HMO flat.

Grove Street resident Liz Haggard, who campaigned against the party flats, said: “We’ve had a wonderful year with nobody in the new flat – it has just made an unimaginable difference to the street.

“We are obviously concerned about him having six people in the flat.

“We feel that we cannot have confidence that these will be a good neighbours.

“What we wish is that these flats could be used as ordinary homes for families, which is how most of the flats are in this street, and we hope planning will find a way for this to be possible.”

Councillor Cammy Day, the city’s community safety leader, said: “Given the upset which the neighbours have suffered over months, I would urge the committee to think very carefully about the decision that they take on these properties.”

But representatives for owner Ian Scott have defended the new applications.

Bob Tait, Mr Scott’s planning agent, said: “It’s better that it’s regulated – these are large flats and somewhere along the line they need to be occupied.

“We’re applying to regulate the position so that they can be licensed. At least this way, Mr Scott has addressed the problem.”