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Uni sidesteps Planning Prmission
Under present legislation any property let through
the University Letting Agency is exempt from planning permission.
The relevant legislation was originally created to
allow Universities to build and operate Halls of Residence for
its students without the planning restrictions that would apply
to a private landlord. Universities have taken advantage
of the loosely worded legislation to create their own letting
agencies which are outside the planning law.
Forum HMO Committee Chair Pat Oakley says,"I
know this sounds crazy and it is. They are making a lot of
money without paying tax because of their University status.
All I can say is that with any property let by the the BU letting
agency you must ensure the University and the Town Hall are kept
fully informed of any anti social behaviour or nuisance caused
by its residents."
"All of the legislation regarding HMOs is
under review at the moment and the result will be announced in
October. If we get the result we want, decisions on HMOs
including those let through the University will be taken locally.
This of course is by no means guaranteed and the Landlords lobby
is very strong. in the meantime I would suggest you lobby
your local Councillors and Member of Parliament."
Winton worst for student noise
31.07.10
A new council report pinpoints Winton as the worst
place in Bournemouth for student noise.
The Environmental Services document says that during
the course of the 2009-2010 academic year they dealt with 129
cases - 90 involving student houses. Of the remainder, a significant
proportion were directed at the Okeford House hall of residence
in Crimea Road. The total number of complaints was up by 25% on
the previous year, but part of the increase is believed to be
the result of increased awareness among residents that they now
had official channels of complaint.
Click here to read the full
report.
Winton problems highlighted
20 July 2010
Winton Community Forum has responded to the Council's
consultation on Bournemouth's future with a detailled description
of the problems facing the area.
It stresses the effects of "studentification"
and growth in number of houses in multiple occupation.
Read the full response
HERE.
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Progress Report
3 July 2010
from Patrick Oakley, the Forum's HMO Committee
chairman
I am really pleased with the number of people
who have posted on the Message Board relating to Student HMO Saturation
and at the same time it is depressing that so many people are
suffering. Many of you have been asking about meetings and what
actions need to be taken to redress the HMO student balance to
an acceptable level. I acknowledge this concern and on behalf
of the Forum want to tell you what has been going over the last
three weeks.
During last month your Forum Committee has been
hard at work lobbying support for our cause. The Forum has set
up a sub-committee specifically focused on the HMO issue. Three
weeks ago Anson Westbrook and I met with representatives of the
University. This has resulted in the Students Union attending
the recent Carnival where they canvassed local opinion regarding
the impact students are having on the area. Additionally they
are in the process of preparing a 'volunteer programme' where
they hope to improve the perception of Students in Winton. This
will have little impact on the number of HMOs but we welcome all
positive action.
We have attended the Launch of the Core Strategy
Consultation which is part of the process that will determine
planning policy for the years ahead. www.bournemouth.gov.uk/corestrategy
It is really important that we all respond to this consultation,
the closing date for your response is 13th August. I will provide
more information on this subject later.
The new legislation on HMOs is currently in the
process of a Snap Consultation with the Minister Grant Shapps.
The present confusion on the law regarding HMOs will not be resolved
until central government concludes this process. Yesterday we
met our local Member of Parliament, Conor Burns MP. He was very
sympathetic to our cause and has promised to place a question
to the Minister in Westminster Hall supporting the need for Student
HMOs to be effectively regulated. He has also promised to raise
the matter with our local councillors. As a result of yesterday's
meeting I believe we have our local MP very much on our side and
willing to step up and say so where it matters.
We have had several responses to the Forum from
people who live outside of 'Winton East' but who are living with
severe problems because of Student HMO saturation. We welcome
everybody who is suffering from Student HMO Saturation.
In the next few weeks we intend to hold a Public
Meeting. We will invite our Council to make a presentation on
'The Core Strategy' and how it affects people living in and around
Winton. Your local Councillors will also be invited to attend
and your MP has promised to attend. We are in the process of finalising
the date and venue and will let you know as soon as possible.
I am in daily contact with the National HMO Lobby
searching for ideas which could be relevant to Winton.
If you have felt over the last few weeks that you
have been without the support of your Forum Committee, I apologise.
I hope you will agree we have been very active behind the scenes
but perhaps haven't done so well in communicating that to everybody.
We will try to keep you better informed in future.
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