Update on changes to Use Classes Orders

I have just received the following forwarded email from the National HMO Lobby, from the Government Department for Communities and Local Government. If you follow the link, you will find it says –

“27 Feb 2009: Multiple Occupation

Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to consult on amendments to use classes orders in relation to houses in multiple occupation.

Mr. Iain Wright: We are committed to consulting on possible changes to the use class order in relation to houses in multiple occupation. We are considering the most appropriate mechanism for this consultation, and plan to consult in the spring.”

Same Day Waste Collection is coming

Refuse lorryOver the years as the Council has introduced different recycling and collection schemes we have ended up with a system where you put one box out one day another on another day and your garden waste on a third. In certain areas different boxes were also put out in differing locations.

The first step was to get all residents to put all collections out to the same spot. The next step was to have been to move to same day collection in the autumn of 2007. However the current Conservative administration put that back a year and a half and it will now be happening this summer, from the 8th June 2009 – although the cardbaord / green waste service will remain fortnightly.

This is good news for us all as we now have all collections done on the same day. As a bonus this step also has the side effect of increasing recycling rates by about 6%. More information on this move can be found at here.

We will keep you regularly updated on this important change.

Progress on Use Classes Order to help tackle ‘Studentification’

Progress on the consultation on the Use Classes Order is frustratingly slow.  However, it has not entirely ground to a halt, as the following two emails indicate (I have added the emphasis); what ‘soon’ means remains unclear!  Thanks to local resident groups in Southampton and in Newcastle for forwarding these.
 
(1) From: Cheryl Storrar, Office of John Denham MP [Secretary of State, DIUS]
Sent: 19 February 2009
To: Jerry Gillen, Highfields RA, Southampton
Subject: from John Denham MP
 
Thank you for your recent email.  Mr Denham recently met with Margaret Beckett [Secretary of State, CLG] to discuss the case for changes to the use classes order.  This is something that Mr Denham supported as a backbench MP for many years.  Mr Denham understands that there has been some delay in issuing the consultation.  This is due to some unrelated issues, it should however be forthcoming soon.
 
(2) Department for Communities and Local Government
Eland House Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU
Tel: 020 7944 3040 Fax: 020 7944 5891, E-Mail: iain.wright@communities.gsi.gov.uk
www.communities.gov.uk
 
Our Ref: WRNVR/000393/09
 
23 February 2009
Dear Councillor Armstrong [Newcastle City Council]
THE USE CLASSES ORDER AND HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION
Thank you for your e-mail of 7 January [ 2009 ] which outlined Newcastle City Council’s views about changes to the Use Classes Order (UCO) in relation to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and asked what the Government’s intentions with respect to HMOs and the UCO were.
We have recently published research work which looked at the issue of the UCO and HMOs. The research work was commissioned to identify good practice in areas that manage to cope relatively well with high concentrations of HMOs, to test whether these ideas could have a wider application in those areas which have difficulty with such issues and to determine whether, and if so what, planning policy is a suitable lever to tackle these problems.
The report can be found at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/evidencegatheringresearch
Once we have finished considering the report’s recommendations we will consult on possible options for change. I anticipate that this will be soon.
I hope this is useful.
(signed )
IAIN WRIGHT [Planning Minister]

Estate Agents must control themselves

Streets in some areas of Oldfield Park in Bath are currently a forest of TO LET signs. It is well known that Oldfield Park has a high number of properties let to students. One consequence of this is that every January and February there are TO LET signs on most streets; in some cases multiple signs from the same agency.

Local Councillors are calling on Estate Agents to self- regulate the number of signs they put up.

Cllr Will Sandry has called on estate agents to remove their multiple TO LET signs in Oldfield and not to put them up in such excessive numbers in future years.

There are special regulations that the Council has in place to stop estate agents putting up signs in the conservation areas of the city, but Oldfield is not a conservation area.

If the estate agents do not respond maturely and in the best interests of our residents they can be assured that Councillors in Bath will be asking Council Officers to extend this special “Article 7” regulation to cover all other parts of the City.

Don and Bath Lib Dems support plans to end fuel poverty

Liberal Democrats in Bath & North East Somerset, led by Bath MP Don Foster, are supporting South West Lib Dem MP David Heath in bringing forward a parliamentary bill aimed at ending fuel poverty.

The Fuel Poverty Bill will bring in two measures:

  • A major energy efficiency programme to bring existing homes up to the current energy efficiency levels enjoyed by modern homes.
  • Social tariffs to limit vulnerable households’ exposure to high-energy bills.

These proposals will be great for the environment whilst also making a real difference to pensioners and others struggling to pay their energy bills.  It will make a real difference to the large number of households who are now facing a choice between heating or eating.  Many residents of Bath will be struggling to cope with high fuel bills this winter.

Read the rest of this entry.

Lib Dems nationally call for more powers to control ‘Studentification’

Commenting on the recent Government report into tackling the ‘Studentification’ of citys where there are too many Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in one area often rented to groups of students, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said: 
“The Government has consistently failed to take changes such as an increase in the student population into account when setting local authority grants. This is not just about housing but also about vital support services, as population changes affect policing, local health services and rubbish collections. Yet again the Government has failed to put its money where its mouth is."

"Now that changes to the planning rules have been accepted for HMOs, it is time for the Government to give similar powers to the areas at risk of becoming ghost towns thanks to the growth of second homes.”

New Minister has no timetable for Housing Reform

Liberal Democrat Councillor Shaun McGall (Oldfield) has revealed that the Government has no timetable for the Housing Reform Green paper. In a response to his letter to new Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Iain Wright MP replied, saying, “We have not yet made any decisions on the timing or the content of the Housing Reform Green Paper.”

Previous Minister Caroline Flint MP had won the support of local Councillors and MPs when she announced action on “Studentification” and initial plans to give local Councils more control of Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) in their area.

It is of great concern to me that this process seems to have taken a backward step in the short time Margaret Beckett has been Housing Minister. Residents, Councillors and local MPs will now surely be worried that they will have to go back to the beginning and start campaigning all over again.

Caroline Flint seemed to understand that this was an important issue, but the reply I have now received suggests that this work is now not a priority.

Local authorities need to been given the proper controls to deal with HMOs in the way that best suits their area. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for the entire country. I hope that the new Minister will realise this and continue the good work of her predecessor.

Shaun has lobbied both Bath MP Don Foster and Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson Sarah Teather MP on the issue and is delighted that they are supporting the plans for local authorities to have a greater say over HMOs.

Plea to New Housing Minister on ‘Studentification’

Councillor Shaun McGall has written to Margaret Beckett MP, the new Minister for Housing, calling on her to carry on the work of her predecessor to give local authorities powers to tackle ‘studentification’.

In September the Government had announced a Green Paper which was a step towards finally giving Councils the planning powers to dilute high concentrations of student houses or ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation” (HMOs) in specific areas of their authorities.

 

I’ve been campaigning on this issue for a long time.  I was delighted when I heard in September that the Government was finally beginning to make moves on the ‘studentification’ issue.  However a Government reshuffle followed and there is always the risk that the initiatives of the previous incumbent may be quietly dropped.

Councils need the substantive tools to address the development and growth of large clusters of student houses in University towns and cities – as in Oldfield Park in Bath for example – through the planning system. The Government’s suggestion of allowing local Councils to use planning restraint policies and ‘Use Class Orders’ to control concentrations of student houses and to help create more balanced, sustainable communities was therefore most welcome and when implemented will help improve the availability of affordable housing.

In writing to the new Housing Minister, to call on her to carry on the work on the draft Green Paper on neighbourhood studentification, I hope to get a commitment to this initiative and to the previously proposed timetable. Local Councils have been waiting for the powers to act on ‘studentification’ for a long time.

Councillor Warns Lack of Student Housing May Stymie Sustainable Growth

B&NES Council last week adopted a position on the sustainable growth of the district. 

Councillor Shaun McGall spoke in the debate and warned that the Universities are not planning to build adequate student accommodation to keep up with their intended growth in student numbers.  This could have a negative effect on the sustainability of growth in the district. 

I welcomed the development of a long term corporate position to deliver sustainable growth and the link to refreshing the community strategy. 

It is worthwhile noting the corporate priority to improve the availability of affordable housing. 

The ‘Future for Bath’ highlights the strength of our local education sector.  I know this first hand through working at the University of Bath and studying at Bath Spa University.  The Future for Bath vision includes the need for ‘appropriate provision for student accommodation’.  This is all to be welcomed, however history does not support the optimistic idea that either the Council or our Higher Education partners will be able to deliver this goal. 

Since 1990 there has been an increase of approximately 75% in the numbers of students at the Bath Spa University, but only a 67% increase in accommodation – this equates to an increase of 2500 students but only 300 beds.  Similarly the University of Bath, since 1990, has increased from around 4000 students to around 12000 today.  In its recent consultation on its draft Masterplan 2008-2020, the University of Bath stated an intended growth of between 2000 to 6000 students by 2020 but they only plan to build a maximum of around 2300 new bed spaces. 

These growth plans for our Higher Education partners are potentially NOT sustainable for our community especially if we are serious about increasing the number of affordable homes in the area. 

Purpose built student housing growth MUST outweigh and outgrow the growth in student numbers if we want balanced and sustainable communities.

200 homes lost to students in last year

Bath MP Don Foster can reveal that the latest figures show that there has been an increase of almost 200 homes in Bath and North East Somerset that are lived in by students. 

Commenting, Don said, “This time last year there were 1976 students homes in the local authority, now that has risen to 2154, an increase of almost 200.  These are homes that could be housing residents of Bath who are currently struggling to get on the property ladder.  They are homes in the most affordable areas of our city. 

Despite the fact that this is clearly an issue, the Government will not let us solve it within the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).  If purpose built student accommodation could count towards the target then we could free up these homes for local families. 

Don stated that he would continue to lobby the Government to change the rules so that purpose built student accommodation can count towards the target. 

The Government has suggested allowing local Councils to use planning restraint policies and ‘Use Class Orders’ to control concentrations of HMOs and to help create more balanced, sustainable communities. 

What we need are the practical tools to be able to achieve this, and allowing purpose built student accommodation to count towards the RSS target would be a great start.