Residents in Newport have reacted angrily after plans for another house of multiple occupation (HMO) were given the go-ahead. Proposals to turn 17 Caerau Road near Newport city centre were given the green light by Newport City Council last week despite a number of concerns from nearby locals about the impact on the area.
A number of residents objected to the application saying there was a "very serious problem with parking" and issues with rats, claiming a HMO was "only going to exacerbate the problems" in the area. Objectors included councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi who said HMOs "do not help or promote community cohesion, especially when they are over-concentrated in residential streets close to the city centre".
There have been a number of HMO applications in Newport city centre in the past few months. In August a six-bed HMO in Faulkner Road was given the go-ahead despite pleas from residents over a saturation of HMOs and parking issues in the area. In the past year controversial plans to turn a house in Ombersley Road into a seven-bedroom HMO, a six-bed house in St Julians, and a five-bedroom HMO in Morden Road have all been given the green light by planners.
