READING Borough Council is due to announce its decision on how it plans to preserve the character of local communities next week.
Further restrictions on the number of houses of multiple occupation, or HMOs, are currently being considered and will be decided upon at a planning committee meeting on Thursday.
The meeting follows a two-month period of public consultation, councillors are now expected to suggest that the Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport Committee goes ahead with an update to planning guides.
Proposals include a clarification of the current 25% thresholds in place within 50 metres of a property, which applies to the total number of residential buildings, as opposed to residential dwellings, within specified areas.
They also include what the council calls “a new approach” to conversion plans for flats and HMOs outside of Article 4 areas, where the proportion of residential buildings within 50m of the application site that have been converted would not be expected to exceed 50%.
There would also be further criteria which would consider whether application sites fall within the most deprived areas of the town.
Plans would also be designed to avoid the “sandwiching” of residential properties between HMOs.
Micky Leng, Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for planning, said: “There is little doubt there is a huge and continuing demand for HMOs in Reading, but it is the Council’s job to ensure we balance these demands with the need to retain and preserve the character of local communities in the town.
“We have seen that a prevalence of HMOs in parts of our town can lead to tensions in a local community.
“Examples include pressure on limited parking or multiple bin collections at HMO addresses– more fundamentally, HMOs can change the look, feel and character of a local neighbourhood, which existing residents understandably have concerns over.
He explained that the council’s proposals would: “Tighten up the existing thresholds in Article 4 areas around the University, and introducing a new threshold for other parts of Reading where restrictions do not already exist and where applications for house conversions to HMO’s are spreading.
“If adopted next week, these changes strengthen and update existing planning policies and will be a material consideration when deciding if an HMO conversion will be approved.”
HMOs are homes which have been converted to accommodate multiple people unrelated as tenants.
Reading’s large student population and status as a locus for employment opportunities means it has a high demand for rental properties.
HMOs help meet that demand, but can lead to problems such as pressure for parking spaces, refuse and public space, and loss of privacy in other homes.
The decision on further restrictions is set to be confirmed at a planning committee meeting due on Thursday, March 23.
Full details of the proposals are available online via: democracy.reading.gov.uk.
