A lasting impact on the town

It is not the presence of the students that is the main cause for concern but the fact that so many of them live in houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs). These have proliferated because it is much more profitable for houses to be split up and let to four or five students than for them to be sold or let to families.

This is not the fault of students, although Warwick University should bear some responsibility for failing to provide sufficient halls of residence to house its expanding student population, but it has many consequences including: the loss of low cost family houses; a threat to the viability of some primary schools because of falling rolls; the deterioration of the environment due to the failure of landlords to maintain their properties and front gardens; pressure on on-street parking and the continuing exodus of settled residents.

HMOs do not fit easily into residential terraces because bedsitting rooms are located next to neighbours’ bedrooms with all the potential for disruption during sleeping hours which this implies. Also further noise nuisance often occurs because most HMOs have no common room where residents can meet and talk so their gardens and back yards tend to fulfil this function as well as providing a venue for parties.

When a house with nearby HMOs comes up for sale, families are deterred from buying and it inevitably becomes another HMO. There is a domino effect which has already led to whole streets having virtually no permanent residents.

If something is not done urgently to prevent the creation of any more HMOs much of south Leamington will become little more than a student dormitory for Warwick University with no local community, devoid of life in vacations and a student ghetto in term time. In order to prevent this and while there is still time, we support the proposal that there should be a moratorium on granting any further planning permissions for HMOs in this part of town.

Nick and Meg Bond, Radford Road, Leamington