‘How many HMOs are you trying to cram into this village?’: HMO in middle of ‘close knit community’ sparks anger

An ex funeral parlour in a ‘quirky village’ in Oldham will now become a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) – but neighbours aren’t happy.

The building on Ashton Road, Bardsley received planning permission from Oldham Council to be turned into seven bedrooms and a self-contained apartment. 

But Bardsley locals have suggested the growing number of HMOs in the area are causing the ‘close-knit’ community to ‘unravel’. 

The house has stood vacant since Elizabeth Way & Company Funeral Directors closed their Bardsley branch. And planning officers argue the development will ‘boost housing supply’ and bring a disused building ‘back into use’. 

The developer, Mohammad Rahman, initially suggested a ten-bed HMO. But the designs were changed because of ‘concerns relating to amenity of future occupiers’. 

The first floor will now be converted into a self-contained one-bedroom flat and three undefined rooms. The upper floors will have five bedrooms with en-suites, two additional bedrooms, three communal bathrooms, two kitchens with one hob each, a shared dining and lounge area and a utilities room. 

Neighbours opposed the plans, with six strongly-worded objections received on the online planning application. 

But in six strongly-worded objections, neighbours raised concerns about the lack of local amenities, parking and the HMO’s ‘impact on the character of the area’.

One resident, who signed off as S Jeffery, said: “Bardsley has had a long-standing reputation as a close-knit, family based community. … In recent years, this community cohesion has begun to unravel, as young adults have been forced to leave the village, due to a shortage of suitable family accommodation in Bardsley.” 

Another added: “I feel that addition of a 4th HMO in the area would put further pressure on already stretched resources in the area. We only have one shop, no local dentist, doctor or school. 

“I personally have to send my children to schools in Tameside due to a lack of schooling provision in the area.” 

Noise and concerns about ‘anti-social behaviour’ from “transient residents” occupying the HMO were also listed as worries. 

“How many HMO’s are you trying to cram into this village?” one neighbour wrote. “We do not need or want another HMO in Bardsley village. This is a “quirky” village with many families going back generations and has a great sense of community.” 

Yet despite the opposition, planning officer Abiola Labisi found there were ‘not enough grounds’ to throw the application out. 

“The nature of the use (residential) is in keeping with the character of the area and as such, the proposal would not detract significantly from the character of the area as to warrant a refusal,” Labisi wrote.

He went on: “The proposal would not lead to any significant adverse impact on the character of the area neither would it lead to a significant adverse impact on the amenity of the occupiers of neighbouring properties.”