We have found out that today Peterborough City Council has been successful in its application to make a designation for an additional HMO licensing scheme. We understand that they are the first council in the country to be granted this permission.

The designation has now been made and is with Department for Communities and Local Government for formal approval and it is anticipated that the scheme will take effect in the designated area on about 1st July 2009.

The scheme will allow for licensing all HMOs of two or more storeys, containing three or more persons in two or more households where at least one basic amenity is shared.

Cllr McGall will be following up this sucess with Peterborough City Council to see what lessions our Council could learn from their application.

We shall continue to campaign for Bath and North East Somerset Council to apply to central government for the powers to additionally license all two storey HMOs.

Unfortuntately, the current Tory-controlled Council does not believe there are sufficient problems with HMOs to justify an application!  Many hundreds of residents across the city and partiularly in Oldfield Park know otherwise.