Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006 (as amended August 2009)

Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Calderdale in Context
• Strategic and Core Part One Policies
• 3 Guiding Principles and Key Themes
• 4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration
• 5 Housing
  • Introduction
  • Strategy for Housing
  • Existing Housing Areas
  • Additional Housing
  • Non-Allocated Sites
  • Density and Type of Dwellings
  • Living Over Shops and Other Business Premises
  • Affordable Housing
  • Accessible Housing
  • Houses in Multiple Occupation
  • Gypsies
• 6 Retailing and Town Centres
• 7 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Facilities
• 8 The Built and Historic Environment
• 9 Transport
• 10 Infrastructure, Education and Community Facilities
• 11 Natural Environment and the Countryside
• 12 Environmental Protection
• 13 Minerals
• 14 Waste Management
• 15 Monitoring and Review of the Plan
• Annex A Privacy, Daylighting and Amenity Space
• Annex B Trees On or Adjacent to Development Sites
• Appendix 1 National Planning Policy
• Appendix 2 National Minerals Policy
• Appendix 3 Supporting Published Documents
• Appendix 4 Glossary of Terms
• Appendix 5 Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Appendix 6 Policy Topic Index
• Appendix 7 Policy Number Comparison
• Appendix 8 Supplementary Maps

Houses in Multiple Occupation

5.59 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are houses that are not occupied by a single household and include dwellings occupied by two or more people living separately, bedsits, lodgings and hostels. They meet specific local housing needs, such as those of students, single people on low incomes or people who move frequently and require temporary accommodation.

5.60 There are 29 HMOs registered under the Calderdale (Registration of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Control Scheme 1998, with another four likely to be registered soon. The Council has a duty to carry out a risk assessment of HMOs to ensure they meet statutory standards with a view to protecting the health, safety and welfare of the occupants.

5.61 The intensification of use associated with HMOs often has implications for the area in which the building is located. Planning control is required in order to protect the amenity of both nearby residents and the future occupants of the building to be converted from increased noise levels. Such proposals are usually located in residential areas whose character also needs protecting. External alterations to the building such as the addition of fire escapes can affect the appearance of the building. This is of particular importance in sensitive areas such as Conservation Areas or where Listed Buildings are concerned. Neglect of gardens following conversion will affect the character of the locality, as will increases in the number of cars, both in terms of car parking and increased traffic on the local highway network. If a high proportion of conversions to HMOs took place in a locality, this could both change the character of the area and reduce the supply of family housing. This could give rise to the dominance of a particular type of housing rather than retaining a mix of house types and sizes which would support a more mixed community, this being one of the fundamental objectives of PPG3.

5.62 Given the rise in single person households HMOs clearly have a role to play in meeting the District’s future housing requirements. However a balance must be struck between this and protecting existing residential amenity. HMOs will be expected to be located in the main urban areas and therefore near to public transport since, as recognised in PPG3, lower levels of car ownership are often found in such properties and this in turn will often reduce car parking requirements. These requirements are therefore reflected in the following policy on HMOs:- .

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