‘Windows smashed’ at property in middle of HMO row

Windows have been smashed and graffiti daubed on a Blackwood property which a developer plans to turn into a HMO.

D2 Propco has won planning permission to convert 26 Albany Road into temporary accommodation for four people, following considerable community opposition.

Hundreds of people signed petitions opposing the conversion and sent letters of objection, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee heard on Wednesday November 12.

Phil Bolton, a nearby resident, called Albany Road a “traditional family-orientated street” and alleged there had been a “lack of local engagement” on the HMO plans.

He told the committee that council officers “did not want to meet any of the residents” to discuss their concerns, which included questions about the future occupiers of the HMO and parking pressures.

The property was “daubed with paint” earlier in the week and had also had its windows broken and a fire set outside, he added.

Blackwood ward councillor Andrew Farina-Childs said Albany Road was “predominantly a street where families reside”, adding the property was near a primary school.

He raised concerns about the “breakdown of community cohesion” and questioned council claims HMOs made up 1.5% of the surrounding housing.

“Not all HMOs require a licence and therefore it is unknown how many HMOs there are in Blackwood,” he told the committee.

Cllr Farina-Childs said he believed the house “should remain an affordable family property”.

But James Driscoll, from D2 Propco, defended the company’s work providing temporary housing in the borough and beyond.

He said the proposed HMO would have CCTV in communal areas, and residents and neighbours would receive details of a 24-hour “on-call system” if there were any issues.

Mr Driscoll also said any occupants could be moved on from the property if there were breaches of their tenancy, and his firm would carry out regular welfare and maintenance checks.

D2 Propco wanted an “open and approachable relationship” with neighbours, he added.

Several members of the planning committee were sympathetic to the local concerns, and its chairman, Cllr Roy Saralis, described it as a “highly emotive issue”.

Cllr Mansell Powell said committee members’ “hands are tied” from a “planning perspective”.

Cllr Shane Williams said that while the local parking concerns were “a little bit problematic”, it was not for the planning committee to speculate about a property’s future occupiers.

“That is not a planning matter,” he said, before criticising “fear” and “hatred” around the issue, which he alleged had been “whipped up by people who ought to know better”.

Senior planning officer Carwyn Powell told the committee the council would need to be able to defend a refusal at an appeal, and advised members to approve the application on planning grounds.

The committee voted unanimously to grant planning permission.

Away from the meeting, Blackwood ward councillor Kevin Etheridge told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he felt decision-makers should provide communities with education and guidance on HMOs.

He claimed a lack of communication on the Albany Road proposal had “got people up in arms”, and believed residents should have been allowed to attend a meeting on the scheme.