Written question WQ99216
- Asked by
- Natasha AsgharConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 8 days
Question
How is the Welsh Government working with local authorities to ensure communities are at the forefront of decision making when determining applications for HMOs?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning (Siân Gwenllian)
The Welsh Government has provided local authorities with extensive licensing and planning powers to manage HMOs in their areas. These powers include provisions which can be used to prevent oversaturation of HMOs, where it can be demonstrated that further growth or concentration would cause problems to local communities.
Planning authorities adopt local policies to control the density and spread of HMOs when preparing their Local Development Plans (LDPs). The Welsh Government expects planning authorities to ensure that their development plans are kept up to date. This affords communities some opportunities to engage in the plan making process, but I will be looking for ways to strengthen the voice of the community in the planning process. The LDP review process enables those local authorities who do not currently have policies in place, to respond to changes in local circumstances accordingly. Policies must be justified having regard to local evidence and be able to demonstrate that additional HMOs would harm the local area.
Several local authorities are undertaking work to inform their replacement local development plans and provide an updated evidence base for policies to control additional HMOs.