D.I.Y response from Southend Council re HMO’s in Kursaal Ward

It is extremely disappointing to announce that we were unable to present our petition at the Southend Borough Council Full Council meeting as planned as, we are informed, it is not in the correct format.

However, The One Voice Queensway East Residents Association (OVQE) and myself were able to ask questions of the Council.

Simeon Brookstone, Chair of OVQE asked the council if they had considered imposing the Article 4 direction in Kursaal Ward.  The response, as you can read below, was to suggest that ward residents provide the council with a body of evidence in relation to the he number of HMOs in the ward as well as arguments in support of Article 4.  

It is surprising that the council does not already have this information and is passing responsibility for managing this situation to residents. If you are a resident in Kursaal ward and have information about new or existing HMOs, please message the One Voice Queensway East Residents Association via their Facebook Page.

My own question was in relation to a selective landlord licensing scheme, to try to manage those HMOs already in existence. I am informed that a public consultation about this will commence in 2nd November, so we must take this opportunity to have our say!

We hope to meet with the portfolio holder for environment and planning in the future to present our petition and further this discussion.

Tricia Cowdrey

Labour and Cooperative Candidate, Kursaal Ward, Southend on Sea