A planned crackdown on shared housing in Hinckley in Leicestershire has sparked a row about immigration.

More than 65% of 616 respondents supported Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s proposed Article 4 Direction, but submissions included “deep worry about unvetted or illegal migrants, especially near schools” and “repeated references” to “illegal immigration” as well as “safety concerns for women and children”.

Safety concerns

These were in addition to the more typical complaints about “overcrowding, noise and disruption to neighbours”, “parking congestion on narrow terraced streets” and the “loss of family homes and shift toward high-turnover populations”.

Respondents did, however, concede that HMOs “provide affordable accommodation for single people, young professionals [and] students” and are an “efficient use of existing housing and support the local economy”.

Politically motivated or influenced by anti-immigration sentiment.”

The council also received a number of comments criticising the proposed changes for being “politically motivated or influenced by anti-immigration sentiment”, as well as that the “evidence for Article 4 is weak, outdated, or incomplete”.

Support was split by location, with 84% of those outside the affected area in favour, compared to 51% of residents in it who opposed the plans.

Cllr Stuart Bray said the council was pressing ahead but that the expansion must be evidence-led where there are specific problems, and stressed that not all HMOs are earmarked for the asylum dispersal scheme and they remain “an essential type of housing for local people”.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the Article 4 Direction will mean planning permission is required for new Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in a number of roads in Hinckley, including Queen’s Road, London Road and Clarence Road.