A town that has become a hotspot for "poor" and "cramped" housing is being targeted with planning applications that could make the problem even worse.
Councillors and residents say Crewe, in Cheshire, has become "overloaded" with houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) in recent years. Although Cheshire East Council has taken action on the issue, the local authority continues to be swamped with proposals.
An HMO is a house where two or more people live who are not from the same 'household' (eg a family or couple), according to the charity Shelter. They mainly include homes where separate tenants share facilities, including bathrooms and kitchens, Cheshire Live reports.
Complaints mainly centre around the living conditions in such homes, which are said to often be "cramped". Other issues highlighted include lack of parking space and adequate waste management.
According to Coun Connor Naismith, who represents Crewe West on Cheshire East Council, 70pc of the known HMOs in the borough are in Crewe. Most of these are situated in the south of the town.
He said: "These types of properties are characterised by poor, cramped living conditions, inadequate parking provision which creates issues on our roads, and a lack of adequate waste management provision, which leads to fly-tipping and other issues.
"Crewe is a particular target for these kinds of applications due to the availability of relatively cheap property which is easily converted.
"In recent times we have seen individuals using social media to advocate wealthy investors from all over the country buying up property in places like Crewe and converting them into HMOs. This may be good for speculative investors but it is rarely good for our communities."
Crewe Town Council recently confirmed that it had "strongly" objected to a recent application for a property on Delamere Street. The proposal would have seen a two-storey home turned into a four-bedroom HMO.
A statement issued by the town council after the meeting said: "The application for a new HMO on Delamere Street was strongly opposed by the committee on the grounds of how HMOs have adversely affected Crewe and the risk of negative impacts on existing residents from further high density housing. They also offer poor quality accommodation for prospective residents."
Members also objected to a plan to convert a home on Holt Street into two self-contained flats. While not technically a HMO, councillors expressed concerns that the plans "would risk overdevelopment in an already high-density residential area".
Other recent plans included an application to increase an existing HMO from six tenants to nine. This was eventually refused by Cheshire East Council following comments that residents would "spill out into the street".
And concerns have also been made about housing developments in the Eldeston Road area, with one councillor claiming it was "already overloaded with HMOs".
The authority has taken action in recent years in an attempt to deal with the volume of HMOs popping up across the town. This includes an Article 4 direction, which restricts permitted development rights for such properties.
Coun Naismith said: "This is likely to be a contributing factor as to why we are seeing more planning applications and is a good thing because previously properties were being converted without requiring planning permission or scrutiny from the council.
"We have also implemented a new planning policy specifically intended to deal with HMOs. However, there is always more to be done and I am confident we will continue to build on this work should we remain in power beyond the 2023 local elections.
"What our communities need is quality, genuinely affordable housing with access to decent services. This is how we create thriving communities which work for the people who live in them, rather than distant property investors whose main concern is the passive income they can draw out of that investment."
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