AIBU to object to a large co-living dwvelopment near my home?

[Mathsdebator]

I live in the North East. The local paper published an article yesterday about someone applying to turn a shop near me into a "large co-living development' with 18 rooms and communal area. Aimed at young professionals apparently and they're denying it's a HMO.

It's obviously a HMO

There's no parking. The space is small. It's 3 minutes walk from a primary school. I've looked up the developers - they're based in London.

Would you object?

Isn't an HMO just a house share? No wonder we have so many young people living with their parents if we've all become horrified of people sharing houses. This was literally what everyone I knew did until they got coupled up or, more unusually, could afford a place on their own.

The co-living places around us are too expensive for young professionals, so they are stood empty.

Before you object you need to check when the public consultation is (or if it’s already passed).

You need to look into what counts as a material consideration and what doesn’t. Fear of crime can amount to a material consideration but it cannot be based on speculation, there’s a 3 stage test to set it out. Things like overdevelopment, amenity etc are but loss of private view, devaluing homes etc generally aren’t. The officers/Cllrs can only consider the planning policies & material considerations when making their decision so stick to that. “I don’t like the look of it” won’t get you anywhere.

We’ve had some of these in our LA and generally the room sizes don’t meet recommendations. You could check the plans and make something of that.

I am seeing increasing “car free” developments and that is sold as a good thing - less emissions and encouraging cycling (lots have cycle stores).

Badgering local Cllrs can help (one of them may speak against it at committee which helps). Petitions are good if you can get a lot of local support. Articles in the local paper help if there is public objection. Cllrs don’t like to make decisions which the public won’t like (if they can help it).

How are they going to fit 18 rooms in a building that was a cafe and then 2 flats on it?

Are you sure you have that bit right?

Theres another thread running at the moment about someone looking for accommodation in London. Her options are a house share, which is what this would be

I dont know what Sunderland is like for prices of rentals or availability. I presume its more affordable that some areas but is there availability for the numbers who need it? Is this fulfiling a need?

Thank you. I searched the plans on the council website and there was about 12 documents uploaded (plans etc) but all had error codes when I tried to download them.

Car free developments are a farce because in reality people need cars so they just park elsewhere.

I'm no architect but can't see how they'd fit! The article says they'll be 'compact'

Don’t be so melodramatic. And there are primary schools in “ bad” areas all over the country cos.. guess what.. poor people’s kids have to go to school too.

Definitely object if you live nearby. Councils are often trying to prevent a high number of HMOs in one area as it causes problems to saturate an area with over occupied crappy bedsits. They will not be used for young professionals. They are trying to cram as many people into one property as possible to maximise the rental income - which will be the same as the benefits amount obtainable in your area.

People with kids won't fit into a compact room. I don't think it's melodramatic - surely a list of crimes like that shouldn't statistically occur on 1 street?

You can object easily on the council website. Just find the application.
Zero parking will hopefully mean it won’t pass

IME they aren’t really like house shares. They are a collection of tiny studio apartments (which usually fall below recommended limits) and this is supposedly offset by shared amenity areas like common rooms, roof terraces etc

A lot of young professionals living in a city don't have cars. They use the bus or Ubers. It allows them to save whilst having decent living accommodation. People have to live somewhere. Personally I'd prefer to live next to a larger unit with young professionals out at work all day than several smaller HMO's filled with people who don't work so often hanging around all day.

What if this is a large HMO filled with people who don't work, hanging round all day?

I meant how do you think primary schools in other dodgy areas cope?

Ok Nigel .. I’m out.. this is getting a bit rage- baity now

It's not a race to the bottom. I don't want to live in a dodgy area. It's a council house type area but it's not currently dodgy. The area just round the corner is now dodgy - as a result of HMOs. Is it wrong to be scared of that?

They probably can in Sunderland

In Sunderland? Get real.

I think you need to be clear about what planning can and can’t control. Planning regulates the land, not really the users of it (except in limited circumstances like student flats, over 55 developments, affordable housing etc).

You could request a robust management plan with 24/7 on site management but you would need to clearly set out that the fear of crime is based in actual local stats etc not just speculative or a determination to keep out people that you find to be undesirable.

Everyone deserves somewhere to live. Developments are going up everywhere and we all just need to deal with it.

Thank you. It's all new news so I'll do some stats digging over the next few days.

They are an amazing option for young professionals and should be available all over.
there are a few gorgeous ones in London! Which area?

OP, I think you need to open your mind and if you can’t do that, mind your business, you don’t understand it. It’s ok to not understand, it’s not ok to interfere.

I think this is unfair and not in the spirit of the planning process. Where full planning permission is sought, there is a mandatory consultation period (i.e an invitation to interfere).

If OP’s experience of the area she lives in is that HMO = crime, it’s natural for her to be concerned. Developers are free to apply for planning permission and anyone is free to object.

The decision maker/s can then weigh up the evidence before them.

I don’t know how things are in Sunderland but in the south east there are plenty of professionals aged 30+ living in a bedsit with communal areas and they don’t own cars so don’t need parking spaces. If everyone objected to HMOs near them then they’d have to start taking in lodgers or lots of people wouldn’t have anywhere to live

It's not like that here. Rent is cheap and so is buying.