Derry HMO gets OK despite concern over 'Holylands' scenario in city
A HMO licence has been granted for a house in Derry’s Rosemount district despite one resident’s concerns a ‘Holylands’ scenario could arise in the university area.
The decision to approve the student style House of Multiple Occupation was made at a sitting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Special Health and Community Committee meeting on Thursday, September 12. Councillors endorsed the plans for a five-bedroom HMO at 11 Park Avenue, which is located within walking distance of Ulster University’s Derry campus.
Northern Ireland HMO Manager, Kevin Bloomfield, said the application was refused in 2022, as it would “unacceptably affect the existing character of the area due to an overprovision of HMOs in the locality”, but a consultation with council’s Planning Service confirmed that the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) had granted full planning permission on March 29 this year.
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Council had received 11 objections in relation to increased noise and disturbance, impact on community cohesion, and safety. In an objection letter to council, one resident said: “The increase in occupancy is likely to result in elevated noise levels, particularly during evenings and weekends. Such disturbances would significantly affect residents’ quality of life, and HMOs will risk a Holylands area of Derry around the university.”
Mr Bloomfield explained that the proposed licensee had provided an ASB plan which “clearly details the steps which will be taken to address any ASB”.
People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said there were concerns of “HMO creep” in the wider area, which had been causing “agitation” among residents, while SDLP councillor Rory Farrell said the council’s HMO register identified an abundance of HMOs in the wider Rosemount area.
“There is a proliferation in the area. In terms of overprovision what does that mean? Do you look at one street or the wider area? Because it’s clear there are a lot of HMOs and a lot more applications coming.”
Mr Bloomfield explained that there was no maximum HMO capacity specified within the district’s development plan, so there was no benchmark to measure against.
“In Belfast, for example, in an individual street it’s no more than ten per cent. The difficulty is that there isn’t a benchmark standard adopted by council, so it then becomes a judgement call.”
Mr Bloomfield added: “There is also an ASB plan in place as a standard condition of the licence, so if there’s a complaint in relation to the property neighbours can inform the Environmental Health department or come directly to the HMO unit.
“The owner or managing agent are required to do an investigation of that ASB incident and keep records of their investigation. If there is an issue identified, they are required to take steps to deal with that and make sure there’s no recurrence of it.”
During a confidential vote members approved a one-year licence for the HMO, with the additional condition that the management agents provide an out-of-hours contact number for residents.
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