Controversial HMO plan for former retirement home thrown out after hundreds of objections
A controversial plan for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) has been thrown out by council planners.
The scheme would have seen the former Rosemary Retirement Home on Vicarage Road, Stourbridge, converted into an HMO with 23 bedrooms.
The plan caused outrage in the area. Dudley Council received around 200 letters of objection and a petition with 136 signatures calling for the scheme to be scrapped.
Wollaston and Stourbridge Town ward councillor Cat Eccles added her voice to opposition to the plan and said she was glad the scheme had been refused.
Councillor Eccles said: “I’m very pleased, we have been vindicated. We have got smaller HMOs elsewhere that cause problems, the developer did nothing to show there were protections in place for the community.
“I would rather see a good application for affordable apartments, someone should come back with a more sensible plan for the site.”
The plan for the former retirement home, which has been vacant since January 2021, attracted a range of objections.
West Midlands Police said the plan would create a greater fear of crime in the region and increase demand on police services.
Dudley’s highways department also objected saying there was insufficient parking and the proposed HMO could cause traffic obstructions and road safety issues.
Dudley councillor, Ed Lawrence, who lives in Wollaston, summed up residents’ concerns.
In a letter of objection to the scheme, he said: “This stretch of Vicarage Road is already dangerous with cars parked both sides of the road and more cars would only make it more dangerous to other road users and pedestrians.
“Local residents are very concerned about this application, worries over noise, rubbish, crime and anti-social behaviour.”
In throwing out the application, Dudley’s head of planning, Carl Mellor, said: “The change of use will have a detrimental impact on the character and amenity of the surrounding area, due to the intensity of the proposed HMO use.
“Insufficient information has been submitted regarding the maintenance of the property, as well as the storage and disposal of household waste.
“The proposed change of use to a HMO raises substantial concerns in terms of the potential for increased crime and the fear of crime amongst local residents and would place unreasonable demands and costs on local social and police services, resulting in an unacceptable impact on the local community.”
