Calls for controls over student housing

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 5th Nov 2007

Local Broomhill councillor, Shaffaq Mohammed, will be supporting calls for controls

Local Liberal Democrats in Sheffield are calling for new planning powers to control levels of student housing throughout the city. At the moment planning permission is not required to change family homes into shared homes with less than 6 people. In areas of Sheffield such as Crookes, Broomhill and Walkley there are large sections of local housing occupied by groups of individuals, usually students, rather than families.

Lib Dems believe this can have a detrimental effect on local communities when there are too many of these shared homes in terms of waste, parking and noise, and can eventually lead to communities becoming unbalanced and unsustainable.

The Liberal Democrat Group on Sheffield City Council will move a motion at next weeks Council meeting that will put pressure on the Government to change the rules. They want local councils to be able control HMO's through requiring landlords to apply for planning permission if they want to change the use of family homes.

Cllr Paul Scriven, Leader the Liberal Democrat Group and local Councillor for Broomhill, said: -

"As a local councillor for Broomhill I'm well aware of the problems that an unbalanced community can cause. There can be issues over waste, parking and noise that can cause real tension."

"At the moment family homes can be bought up by developers and let out to a group of individuals, usually students, without any permission so long as they are for less than 6 people. Of course we welcome all students to Sheffield, but what we are saying is that there needs to be control so that communities don't just become student areas."

"By changing the law and requiring planning permission for changing the use of family homes, local Councils can have some degree of control over the types of housing. This would allow us to get the correct mix of permanent residents and students, which is good for all concerned. Hopefully the whole Council can get behind our proposal that we will be moving at next weeks meeting."