The local policing team ‘wished to register their opposition’
Plans to convert the former Portland Hotel into a 122-bed HMO are set to be opposed by Humberside Police. The controversial proposals, which remain under consideration at Hull City Council, have also been criticised by a number of local councillors.
In June, the council received an planning application seeking to breathe new life into the vacant building in Paragon Street in Hull city centre. The submitted plans detail applicant Knight Wood Portfolio Limited’s ambitions to transform the “eyesore” building into a colossal 122-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO).
The 122 rooms would be split across six floors, with “generous kitchen facilities” at “several locations on each floor,” according to plans. In addition to the kitchen areas, each bedroom would be fitted with its own kitchenette area.
The application also includes giving the building’s exterior a much-needed facelift. Such improvement would include a refurbished tiling at the lower levels of the building’s façade.
The ward councillors who represent the area where the would-be HMO is located were quick to raise concerns about the proposals. The St Andrews and Docklands ward is represented by three Labour Party councillors – Leanne Fudge, Daren Hale, and Haroldo Herrera-Richmond.
In the days after the planning application became common knowledge, the councillors shared their concerns on the ‘St Andrew’s and Docklands Labour’ Facebook page in a post that stated: “Cllr Leanne Fudge and your local Labour councillors have ‘called-in’ plans for a 122-bedded House in Multiple Occupation on the site of the former Paragon Hotel in Hull City Centre to be decided by the council’s Planning Committee and not council officers. The site is currently an eyesore, but Cllr Fudge wants guarantees over the plans and a close look at the facilities available on the site to ensure that the current problem is not just replaced by a new one.”
With the fate of the application still unknown, Humberside Police has submitted an objection to the plans. A letter on Hull City Council‘s planning portal that is written from the force’s Designing Out Crime Officer, Marc Dias, confirms Humberside Police’s desire to oppose the proposals.
The letter states: “Some academic research does appear to find a proliferation of HMOs can in part increase the potential for violence due to the particular stresses and insecurities of living in low-quality, crowded accommodation, with shared facilities and little to no choice of co-habitees.” The letter goes on to say: “I consulted with the local policing team who wished to register their opposition.”
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The application has also been criticised by Hull City Council‘s Urban Design Officer, Rebecca Clark. In a letter, which is also visible on Hull City Council‘s Planning Portal, Ms Clark states that the application: “Is not supported from a design perspective.” She goes on to say: “Whilst this living arrangement may be suitable for students, this housing type in this quantity is not appropriate as a sole and permanent accommodation for non-students.”
Ms Clark argues that the plans do “not follow the definition of a HMO” due to the proposed inclusion of kitchen facilities within individual bedrooms. The letter goes on to say that the plans cannot be supported in the current state and recommends the plans are altered to remove the bedroom kitchenettes and to diversity the mix of accommodation on offer. The letter adds: “Given the size of the building, it’s strongly recommended that a combination of HMO units and self-contained apartments is proposed.”