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A string of successful appeals to the Welsh Assembly overturn Swansea Council's decisions to refuse HMOs. In every case the inspector says that the council has not provided evidence of harm to reject the HMO. At a planning meeting Uplands Councillor Peter May asks the council to provide evidence from existing records to try to ward off appeals. The response was "But it's not for us to go finding problems"

The new policy comes along but still the HMOs appeals keep coming. In the case of 1 Montpelier Terrace the inspector again says that the council have provided no compelling evidence as to negative amenity impacts that the HMO will bring. The HMO is allowed to happen through a loop hole.

The Labour council leader public denounces the Welsh Governments decision at a cabinet meeting. In the then Labour deputy leader's ward of St Thomas, the council are rolled over by the Welsh Government who allow an HMO there too. He says he is 'absolutely outraged' n by that decision. 

The council leader vows to pursue both decisions strongly.

Despite the strong words, the council do not pursue the 'outrage' of the St Thomas case any further. The Montpelier Terrace case does is refused permission to even contest an appeal by the High Court who also award £2800 costs against the council. For the case to proceed there needed to be evidence of harm caused by the additional HMO from the council which was clearly lacking.

Since the High Court decision, there has been an application in Waterloo Place clearly trying to exploit the loophole that has been provided. Also an application that was previously rejected in Cambridge Street has been resubmitted for a second bite of the cherry. Developers are already wise to the High Court ruling.

The whole LDP has a routine review in October where modifications can be made.  Uplands Party Councillors will be making representations for robust, defensible and evidenced based policy to be formed. We will also look at ways to encourage the policy to be defended with more freely available evidence.