Call to control growth of student homes in York

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said he believed City of York Council should make an “article 4 designation” for the entire city, meaning planning approval would be needed for properties to converted into homes of multiple occupation (HMO) of three or more people.

He said Manchester City Council had already adopted such a policy, and he claimed that if only certain parts of York were designated the problem would simply be dispersed to other areas.

His comments were echoed by Mark Warters, the chairman of Osbaldwick Parish Council, who fears that if a ward or parts of a ward near the University of York, such as Hull Road, were designated alone, the problem would be pushed on to other communities nearby such as Osbaldwick, Heslington, Badger Hill and Fulford.

He told a meeting of the local development framework working group: “In other parts of the country, where people are fortunate enough to have local authorities which value their views and best interests of residents over and above a transient population, article 4 directions have been applied.

“If Manchester can do this in response to a change in legislation, why can’t York?” he asked.

Coun Steve Galloway, executive member for city strategy, said officers were currently looking at the whole impact that the numbers of short-term let properties might be having on the characteristics of the city.

He said: “Although it may appear that the council has extensive powers to control HMOs, that is not the case.

“A designation order can still be subject to legal challenge and the test of reasonableness and proportionality of the council’s decision are likely to be tested through the courts. “The council will therefore have to demonstrate that a designation order meets the original objectives of the Act. These tests, which clearly didn’t apply to the whole of the Hull Road area, would be even less likely to be justified across the whole city.”