Are you sick and tired of poorly run exempt housing and criminal HMOs destroying your local community?

Are you experiencing theft, damage to your vehicles and property, anti-social behaviour, drug misuse and dealing and a constant threat to your safety as a direct result of these HMOs?

Join us towards our fight to prevent further damage to our communities. Our petition appeals against the unauthorised change of use from C3 single dwelling use to 9 bedroom supported housing. If this is accepted by Birmingham City Council this will further increase crime and tensions in our community.

Our petition:

We would like to oppose any appeal in regards to the enforcement notice issued upon 3 Wye Cliff Road for the unauthorised change of use from C3 single dwelling use to 9 bedroom supported housing (Sui Generis) and request the DCLG to uphold the decision of taking enforcement action against the proprietor and dismiss his appeal for the following reasons:

• The Landlord has an abysmal track record. Throughout the years he has been given many opportunities to comply with conditions set by the Council but he has chosen to ignore both residents' grievances and Council regulations. He even allowed the property to be used as a Children’s Hostel without necessary planning consent thereby endangering the occupants and breaching safeguarding regulations. More recently he has been housing excessive amounts of tenants at the property causing misery and heartache for residents of Wye Cliff Road and the wider community.

• There is a real lack of family dwelling houses in the area as more and more properties are converted into supported housing. This drives families out of the area, ripping the heart out of the community, causing tensions and eroding the character of the area. The unauthorised conversion of this property has resulted in the loss of a substantial family dwelling contrary to Policy DM11 of the Development Management in the Birmingham Development Plan Document. (BDPD). The Council is well aware of the severe lack of family homes particularly in this area, as demand for such family properties far outweigh supply and we implore the DCLG and Council to restore the balance by reverting this property back into family use.

• Wye Cliff road has been designated as being within the Handsworth area of planning restraint. We strongly object to any property in this area being converted into supported housing and landlords of properties such as 3 Wye Cliff Road that are housing excessive number of tenants without permission or authorisation, and is contrary to local planning guidance and they should be brought to account and penalised and be made to repay any overpayments.

• There is a real and tangible fear of crime in this neighbourhood which is in direct correlation to the number of supported housing schemes operating in and around Wye Cliff Road and in particular 3 Wye Cliff Road. The Council only has to look at the Crime statistics for the area as well as types and
number of recorded Police incidents/attendance at 3 Wye Cliff Road for the past few years. We implore the DCLG inspector to obtain these records from WMP before any decision is made as they will truly shock you. Tenants from 3 Wye Cliff Road have been detained for serious offences including rape and firearms offences. A past tenant who was wanted for rape was featured on BBC Crime Watch “most wanted”. It is not acceptable to house people with serious mental health and or substance misuse issues into a suburban setting without professional care, support and supervision, which is something that has been severely lacking from the appellant. By virtue of the nature and number of reported incidents of crime and disorder at the property as well as fear of crime and disorder in the neighbourhood, the unauthorised conversion to Sui Generis is contrary to Policy PG3 of the Birmingham Development Plan 2031 (BDP- Adopted 2017), as well as Policy DM2 of BDPD and paragraphs 92 and 130 of the National Planning Policy Framework NPPF.

• Neighbours and residents of Wye Cliff Road have suffered immensely at the hands of tenants at this property with perpetual anti-social incidents as well as damage to property and vehicles. The tenants are often seen  smoking drugs, drinking, swearing and fighting in the street. Some of the
tenants urinate in public against neighbouring properties and neighbours have had urine filled bottles thrown from attic windows of 3 Wye Cliff Road into their back gardens. Visitors to the street avoid walking past this property for fear of being harassed. Tenants at this property often play loud
vulgar music from their rooms or vehicles at all times of day or night causing a nuisance and disturbance. Tenants smoke inside the property and immediate neighbours have to endure the stench of Cannabis smoke seeping through into their properties, posing a health risk. The Council is
aware of the severe lack of on street parking in the area and no parking provisions have been made for the tenants. The property itself is devoid of a drop kerb yet their tenants choose to illegally mount the kerb and park at the front of the property, some of them own large commercial vehicles
which are often blocking other resident’s driveways or causing hazardous traffic obstructions and posing a danger to pedestrians and other road users while backing across the footway. The unauthorised conversion is therefore contrary to PG3 of the BDP, Policy DM2 of the BDPD and NPPF.

• A young female resident of Wye Cliff Road had been stalked by a tenant at this property and had been traumatised. We implore the Council and DCLG to take action and stop this from happening again.

• Females who are living in or visiting nearby HMO’s are being exploited into prostitution by standing on street corners or visiting these houses. There has been recent Police attendance to 3 Wye Cliff Road in relation to such incidents. The street is littered with used condoms and drug
paraphernalia on a daily basis and our neighbourhood is being turned into a crime-riddled ghetto.

• For the Appellant to say that there are too many steps to comply with the requirements of the enforcement is just farcical and shows the level of contempt he holds for rules and regulations. If he was managing a supported housing scheme properly and within the law, with adequate numbers of professional staff, providing actual support and supervision for tenants as well as showing due care and attention to the impact on the neighbourhood from the unauthorised conversion then perhaps he would not be in this position.

• We would like the Council to uphold the enforcement so that the property can be used as a single family dwelling once more. We have all witnessed and or have been affected by these issues mentioned in this petition and we also have photographic, video as well as documented evidence
that will be supplied with this petition. We would like this supported housing accommodation to be shut down and the appeal dismissed.