Posted: Thu 2nd Feb 2023

Decision to ease Conwy county bedsit ban could be reversed after being called in

North Wales news and information
This article is old - Published: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2023

A decision to ease a blanket ban on bedsits in Conwy could be reversed after a group of councillors called it in.

Last month, Conwy Council’s cabinet backed a study that proposed allowing developers to again submit plans for bedsits in the county.

Previously the local authority had imposed a blanket ban on all bedsit planning applications, to stop large homes in towns such as Colwyn Bay from being broken up into houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).

HMOs are houses in which residents with no connection share toilet and kitchen facilities.

An influx of HMO accommodation in some towns was thought to be responsible for bringing a range of socio-economic problems.

It led the council to introduce a blanket ban on HMO applications, which the cabinet now wants to relax after the Planning Inspectorate overturned the rejection of several planning applications in the area.

Due to a homelessness and housing crisis, senior councillors said lifting the ban and introducing strict guidelines would give the council more control.

The cabinet backed the 100-page study in January, despite the authority’s economy and place scrutiny committee rejecting the report before Christmas.

A group of concerned councillors have now called the decision in.

Those who called in the decision in a letter, dated January 18, are councillors Harry Saville, Louise Emery, Samantha Cotton, Frank Bradfield, Anthony Bertola, and Thomas Montgomery.

The decision is set to be debated at a scrutiny committee on February 15.

Conservative councillor Harry Saville said: “It was very disappointing that Conwy Council’s independent/Labour leadership decided to ignore the recommendation made by the cross-party scrutiny committee which had a thorough debate on this topic.

“When council officials attended the scrutiny committee, their arguments for relaxing the local planning rules that restrict the number of HMOs didn’t stand up when challenged.

“What we need to see is bold action from the council to deliver more good quality social housing, and more HMOs are no substitute for this.”

He added: “I hope that the council’s leadership listen to the concerns raised by local councillors and take these on board, rather than again trying to steamroller through their poorly thought-out plans.”

A Conwy County Council spokeswoman said: “Overview and scrutiny committees continually monitor and review the decisions of the cabinet.

“Overview and scrutiny committees are able to use the call-in procedure to request that the cabinet reconsider its decision, or they can make an alternative recommendation for the cabinet to consider.”

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter



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