Stanmore in Winchester has seen a huge increase in the number of Houses for Multiple Occupation over the last 5 years, many of them are let to students of the City’s University.  It has reached saturation point.  Long standing local residents have seen their community change beyond all recognition, the number of problems are increasing at an alarming rate.  

It is not the principle of students living amongst us that is the problem, it is the sheer number of them and that many (although not all) are not considerate to those living around them.  Loud house parties with children and working people being kept awake until the early hours of the morning, antisocial behaviour and damage to private property whilst returning home from nights out, littering and over flowing bins, out of control on street parking, families priced out of the housing market due to the number of investors inflating prices are just some of the issues over shadowing the lives of a long established and proud community which is at breaking point. 

Winchester City Council in the recent past have taken the unwise decision not to licence HMOs on the grounds that it would be “closing the stable door after the horse has bolted”, effectively recognising that there was an issue but failing in its duty to prevent it getting worse, as it has done. 

On 22/9/2014 Winchester City Council Cabinet finally resolved to progress an ‘Article 4 Direction’ to remove permitted development rights that allow a change of use from a dwelling house to a house in multiple occupation for up to six residents in the Stanmore area.  This will mean planning permission will be needed to change a house into a HMO.  This restriction will only come into being when the Local Plan Part 2 is adopted which is not scheduled until July 2016. 

We the undersigned petition Winchester City Council to limit the number HMOs NOW by implementing an immediate Article 4 and introduce mandatory licencing for all HMOs. A delay until July 2016 is likely to result in the existing imbalance within the community worsening as more properties are snapped up by investors in the meantime. 

We also petition The University of Winchester and the various Landlords of the HMOs to better recognise their responsibility and act to ensure that the students/tenants integrate and behave in a way that does not damage the spirit and community of Stanmore or harm its residents.