Councillors have also “called-in” the applications for legal examination
Ballygomartin Road, Belfast, by Google Maps
Controversial applications to turn three North Belfast houses into HMOs have been deferred by Belfast Council for site visits and “call-ins.”
Plans for three houses in close proximity in the Ballygomartin Road area, at 29 Glencairn Street, 24 Rutherglen Street, and 163 Ballygomartin Road have all gone to City Hall for conversion to HMOs. Each property has a different owner.
At the March meeting of the Belfast City Council Planning Committee, elected representatives agreed to defer decisions on all three for site visits.
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The Glencairn Street application is for change of use from a three bedroom dwelling to a five bed, five person HMO. 69 objections have been received to the application.
The main concerns raised within thes objections are that there are too many HMOs in the area, with multiple existing HMOs on Glencairn Street. Objectors state more family homes are needed in the area and the plan would reduce surrounding house values. The objectors also raise concerns regarding parking issues, added strain on local services, and increased noise.
The application has been “called in” by councillors to be looked at on legal grounds. Reasons for the call-in include overconcentration of HMOs, parking and traffic issues, impact on residential amenity, property and waste management. Councillors say it is contrary to planning policy.
Despite this, council officials are recommending the application for proposal, and state in the planning report: “The proposal is compliant with policy in that the 10 percent threshold for HMOs on Glencairn Street has not yet been reached. Officers consider that the proposal will not be harmful in terms of traffic, parking, impact on residential amenity or the amenity of the surrounding area.”
The application for the neighbouring Rutherglen Street property is for change of use from a four bedroom dwelling to a five bedroom, five person HMO. 50 objections have been received to this application. Objectors raised similar concerns to that surrounding the application at Glencairn, and councillors again called-in the application.
The application for the neighbouring Ballygomartin Road property is again for change of use from a four bedroom dwelling to a five bedroom, five person HMO. 41 objections were forwarded regarding the application, with similar objections. Councillors again called in the application.
Both the Rutherglen Street and Ballygomartin Road applications have been recommended for approval by council officers.
Houses of Multiple Occupation, also known as a “house-share” residencies, which landlords lease out to three or more tenants from different addresses, have become increasingly controversial, with some arguing they have negatively affected communities and led to anti-social behaviour in places like the Holylands and Stranmillis in South Belfast, where landlords pack houses with undergraduates and others.
Applications for new HMO licences have increased in other parts of the city in recent years. A series of applications have been refused across the city, but many applicants are successfully appealing the decisions via the Planning Appeals Commission.
HMO licence renewal cannot be refused on the basis of overprovision of such properties in an area, but new licences can be refused on this basis.
While the council policy is that HMO’s should not account for more than 20 percent of any area of housing management, in reality many streets exceed this, with some in the Holylands reaching over 90 percent. Outside housing policy areas the threshold is 10 percent.
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