Latest news with #GreenbankRoad
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Darlington residents call for rules to stop smaller HMOs
A petition is calling on a council to stop the "uncontrolled transformation" of a of Greenbank Road in Darlington want measures to be put in place to stop landlords turning properties into houses of multiple occupation (HMOs)."Darlington Borough Council has lost control of the HMO situation in our neighbourhood," a letter to residents authority said it was looking into measures it could implement to address the concerns. There are about 400 HMOs in Darlington, according to the are used by residents, often students or young professionals, who rent their bedrooms and share living facilities. 'Unknown scale' Current rules mean that planning permission for an HMO is only needed when it will house more than five people. Specific measures – called an Article Four direction – can be implemented to require the landlord to seek permission for smaller Greenbank Road residents' petition said the council had "no way" of knowing how many houses had already been turned into HMOs and called for the Article Four direction to be made in their area."[The council] cannot make reasonable planning decisions by assessing the impact of new, large HMOs on our local streets if they don't know the scale of the local problem," it said.A spokesman at Darlington Borough Council said HMOs provided "a valuable contribution to housing provision for people who could not access the housing market through home ownership or added: "We also recognise that a concentration of unregulated HMOs can cause issues for neighbouring residents."The authority said while its own policies provided guidance for considering applications for larger HMOs, it did not cover those with fewer than five occupants."We have been working hard to look into measures, such as an Article Four direction, that can be introduced at the earliest opportunity to help control those smaller HMOs." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
No injuries following collision between two school buses in Ottawa's west end
The Ottawa Paramedic Service says no one was taken to hospital following a minor collision between two school buses Wednesday afternoon in the city's west end. Paramedics say they received a call shortly before 3:20 p.m. reporting a collision at Greenbank Road and Craig Henry Drive. When they arrived at the scene, they assessed and released four people. CTV News Ottawa has reached out to the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) and the Ottawa Police Service for comments. More to come
