Yet another council is considering Article 4 planning controls to clampdown should on Houses in Multiple Occupation. 

Mansfield local authority is spending  council tax payers’ money on what it calls “detailed work” to justify Article 4 powers.

The move follows work by the council’s so-called HMO Working Group, which has been examining the growth and concentration of HMOs across the district and options available to the council.

It has also examined what it describes as “concerns” including the loss of family housing, parking pressures, antisocial behaviour, waste, property conditions and the balance of local communities.

The latest work is expected to be available in the new year for consideration.

Executive Mayor of Mansfield, Andy Abrahams, says: “We have listened to residents who are concerned about the increasing number of HMOs and the effect that concentrations can have on family housing, parking and neighbourhoods.

@HMOs have an important role to play in providing affordable places to live, but we also need the right balance. We want Mansfield to have strong, sustainable communities with a good mix of homes for individuals and families.

“By approving this investment we can now get the detailed evidence we need and move this work forward. If that evidence supports an Article 4 Direction, we will be in a much stronger position to consider targeted planning controls in the areas where they are needed.”