Ormskirk Student Lettings are appealing to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government following the decision by West Lancashire Borough Council to reject its application for a student HMO.

The application was called before the October meeting of the Planning Committee by Cllr Kevin Wright to consider if the development is appropriate and meets the relevant criteria for clustering.

At the committee, following a motion from fellow Scott Ward Councillor Noel Delaney to reject the application, a majority of members voted to support the motion and block the conversion to a house in multiple occupation.

Cllr Delaney requested support at the meeting for his motion 'to think of the residents' and to 'take a stand' against the application for a five bedroom HMO.

Cllr Delaney said: “As the ward councillor, I was contacted by many local residents asking for help in turning down this application, all concerned by the potential for conversion to a student house.

“Residents expressed worries over parking and traffic on the road and impact on the amenity of local residents including young families and elderly residents within close proximity and the potential for anti-social and noise issues.

“The council is quite prohibited in what we can do to stem the growth of student houses into our more residential streets but I felt it was important to reject this particular application.

“With Edge Hill University bringing forward applications for more halls on campus to deal with student demand, I look forward to less and less applications for student housing within Ormskirk, and previous student houses converting back to family homes.”

Neighbouring properties to 73 Marians Drive have been notified of the appeal and can submit any additional comments to the Planning Inspectorate by visiting www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk

Lovely picture of Cllr Delaney standing on his own . Where are the residents ? Just a thought !

Originally Posted by Ormskirk Guru

Lovely picture of Cllr Delaney standing on his own . Where are the residents ? Just a thought !

Normally residents would be pictured along side someone who had helped them ? Did he ?

These applications are referred to as 'development'. Quite how these applications enhance the appearance of the property or area is hard to believe. It will be interesting to see what reasons the applicant will put forward regarding why this application is of such importance!

Of course this application does absolutely nothing towards dealing with housing issues in the area or help the Local Authority deal with housing issues in the town. Of course it has everything to do with a Landlord cashing in for every stinking penny of student cash and absolutely no thought for the nearby residents.

Thanks Cllr Furey. If only some of your party councillor colleagues were as exercised about the matter as you - and that includes Scott ward councillors like Cllr Delaney. HMO applications have spread like a rash in our part of Ormskirk and it doesn't feel like your colleagues fight for us most of the time - probably why there are no grateful residents in the photo as Guru points out.

Take a good look at the state of Ormskirk as a whole then ask your selves, is our Town in competent safe hands! Family accommodation means nothing, Requirement of Edge Hill mean everything! Both main political parties have treated residents with complete and utter distain.