Walsall Council grants itself planning permission for homeless HMO in town centre hotel
Walsall Council has granted itself planning permission to convert a town centre hotel into a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) for the homeless.
The authority purchased the Midland Hotel at 20 Station Street, Walsall, in May 2025.
Three months later, it submitted the retrospective application – a type of permission requested after work has been carried out without prior consent – for a 14-bedroom HMO.
The application is on behalf of the council’s Walsall Home Improvement Agency, which supports disabled or vulnerable people.
The council will use the property to meet its statutory homelessness duties by providing temporary accommodation, with occupants staying on average 22 days.
Planning policy officers raised concerns about the number of large HMOs already in Walsall.
But in the end considered the application acceptable since the temporary HMO occupants would provide little change to the operational use of the hotel.
Concerns were also raised about there being no outdoor or green amenity space for occupants, and described the number of hobs/ovens for the 14 occupants as inadequate.
Officers concluded that, because the occupants are temporary, normal amenity standards are not expected.
The mid-terrace building is located within a conservation area and near to the Grade II listed 22, 23 and 24 Station Street.
The exterior of the building will be unaffected in the development.
No parking has been provided, only a cycle store at the rear of the property.
The council said: “The development would bring forward housing in a brownfield location.
“The latest available figures show that the council does not currently have a five-year housing land supply, and, in addition, the council failed the housing delivery test published in December 2023.
“There is growing concern about the large number of HMOs that are operating in parts of the borough. This is resulting in poor quality living conditions for residents and other concerns, such as anti-social behaviour, waste management, and parking.
“Notwithstanding concerns, the proposed use would be sui-generis, and although similar to an HMO, the occupants would be transitional and temporary, similar to the previous hotel use.
“For these reasons, the scheme presents little if any change to the operational use of the building and consequently raises no significant principal issues.”
