{"id":176218,"date":"2025-06-11T17:24:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T17:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/176218\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T17:24:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T17:24:14","slug":"the-20-bed-hmo-locals-fear-could-kill-their-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/176218\/","title":{"rendered":"The 20-bed HMO locals fear could &#8216;kill their town&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The application is the second on the site, after a 22-bed HMO was turned down in April.<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_060425shawprotest5.jpg\" alt=\"Former health centre could become 20-bed HMO despite fears it could 'kill town'\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Former health centre could become 20-bed HMO despite fears it could &#8216;kill town'(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A former health centre in Oldham could be turned into a 20-bed HMO despite a major public backlash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Developers Safina Ghaus and Mehtab Shaukat have submitted plans to transform the former Crompton Health Centre in Shaw into \u2018safe, secure, and welcoming\u2019 shared accommodation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The building on Shaw High Street has stood vacant since the building was found to be \u2018unfit\u2019 for a medical practice and GPs moved to the new Shaw and Crompton Health Centre on Westway. But plans to turn the property into a HMO, a type of shared housing where numerous unrelated tenants live together and often share amenities, have angered locals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A previous application to convert the former centre into a 22-bed property sparked a local protest after residents claimed the area was being \u2018flooded\u2019 by HMOs. Locals claim he town&#8217;s former community assets like banks and health centres are gradually being replaced by shared housing, which they fear will cause issues with parking, oversubscribed amenities and anti-social behaviour.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_060425shawprotest8.jpg\" alt=\"The last application sparked a local protest. \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>The last application sparked a local protest. (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The plans were rejected by town planners, who feared they would result in \u2018substandard living conditions\u2019 due to the lack of windows for natural light and ventilation, and \u2018insufficient\u2019 kitchen facilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">New plans now show 20 slightly bigger rooms, with their own bed space, toilet\/shower unit and small kitchen. Each room now has an external window. There is also a communal area, an office, a meeting room, laundry facilities and a separate bathroom in the central part of the building.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_060425shawprotest4.jpg\" alt=\"The building has stood vacant since GPs moved to the new Shaw and Crompton health centre. \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>The building has stood vacant since GPs moved to the new Shaw and Crompton health centre. (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The existing car park will remain and become resident\u2019s parking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Planning consultants <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/chorlton\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Chorlton<\/a> Planning noted in a statement: \u201cThe reason for refusal centred on deficiencies in the design of the internal layout resulting in sub-standard living conditions for future residents. The principle of the change of use was accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The developers promised to deliver \u2018exceptional management\u2019 with CCTV and a concierge service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Ghaus and Shaukat said: \u201cThis development will serve as an example of effective, professional \u041d\u041c\u041e management, making a positive contribution to the local community, economy and housing provision in <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/oldham\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Oldham<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The new plans have courted criticism from locals, with almost 30 comments on the planning application and heated discussions on social media.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_060425shawprotest10.jpg\" alt=\"The new application has not been greeted warmly by local residents. \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>The new application has not been greeted warmly by local residents. (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">One objector worried the plans would \u2018kill what\u2019s left of the town centre\u2019 and claimed it was a \u2018bad choice for Shaw\u2019. They added: \u201cWhat I would love to see is investment in Shaw and not having more HMOs to line greedy pockets!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Others raised concerns of the impact on the neighbouring residential care home and strain on local amenities such as doctors and dentists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The application is the second on the site, after a 22-bed HMO was turned down in April.Former health&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,6333,2465,1286,14984,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-176218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-housing","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-oldham","14":"tag-oldham-council","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114665898946453954","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}