Oxford News
Oxford ‘quick fix’ HMOs criticised amid possible new influx
David Henwood, leader of the Independent Oxford Alliance Group, has said that houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) are “not a long-term solution” to the city’s housing crisis.
He added that they can place pressure on public infrastructure when grouped in areas in terms of parking, waste collection, local services and community cohesion.
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However, leader of Oxford City Council Susan Brown said the local authority has a policy of restricting the overall number of HMOs in a given area and said they provide “relatively cheap accommodation” in a city where housing is expensive.
Their comments come after at least 14 applications were submitted to the city council in May for properties to become HMOs, large HMOs, or for retrospective approval to confirm use as a HMO.
This includes 47 Hawthorn Avenue (26/01209/FUL), Fern Hill (26/01202/FUL), 1 Benson Road (26/01184/FUL), 11 Broadhead Place (26/01174/FUL), 32 Oxford Road (26/01076/CEU), 60 Wolsey Road (26/01069/FUL) and 12 Norham Road (26/01066/VAR).
In addition there are applications in for 43 Sandy Lane (26/01053/FUL), 57 Magdalen Road (26/01028/FUL), 31 Old Marston Road (26/01027/FUL), 245 London Road (26/00919/FUL), 15 Salford Road (26/00923/FUL), 11 Chatham Road (26/00889/CEU) and 5 Ridgefield Road (26/00849/CEU).
Mr Henwood admitted that HMOs have a “clear role to play in Oxford’s housing market” and said he understood why more applications are moving forward.
“However, HMOs are not a long-term solution to Oxford’s housing crisis in themselves,” he said.
Nor are they relatively cheap, Mr Henwood added, stating that the average rent is roughly between £750 and £950 per room, per month, in Oxford, higher than the national average of £500 to £650.
He said there needs to be more of a focus on “quality over quantity”.
Mr Henwood explained: “Too often, councils rely on HMOs as a quick fix while avoiding the bigger issue of delivering genuinely affordable homes and the infrastructure needed to support growing communities.”
Ms Brown said this is a priority for the current administration.
She said: “As a Labour city council our focus is on building more affordable housing such as council housing and shared ownership but also exploring lower cost rental.
“We are the only council in the country to regulate all private rented housing in the city as well as HMOs to drive up standards in the private rented sector.”
According to Mr Henwood there are around 4,400 HMOs in Oxford compared to more than 30,000 private rented properties but that the number of the former may grow if licensing fees (charges levied by local councils on private landlords to legally rent out properties) aren’t soon amended.
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He said: “A HMO containing four individual flats could see licensing costs work out at around £190 per unit, while a privately rented one-bedroom flat can face selective licensing costs of more than £850.
“That imbalance is one reason we are seeing more HMOs coming forward, while smaller private rentals become increasingly expensive to operate.”
“This model now needs serious review,” he added, before suggesting that private landlord licensing fees are brought closer to HMO costs on a per-bedroom basis.
This gallery shows animals of all shapes and sizes – from cats and dogs, to hedgehogs and birds – being saved and taken in to loving homes.
One image shows an uncommon rescue of a whole crocodile, which was flown to the renowned croc centre Crocodiles of the World in Witney from Malmo, in Sweden, where it had been living unhappily in a greenhouse.
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Others show fantastic action shots of a swarm of bees being rescued by a keeper, and a youngster holding a rescued owl.
Other images show the rescue dogs which, once taken in, became part of the family, and even some that went on to win dog show awards or take part in charity events.
Take a look back through this Oxford Mail archive to see 11 adorable animal rescue shots from Oxfordshire over the years.
The Prime Minister is prepared to “explore every option” to keep Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers in jail, a Government source told the Telegraph on Friday.
The Government has so far resisted pressure to exempt the two killers from its early release scheme, which starts in October in a bid to tackle prison overcrowding.
Mr Burnham said earlier this week he had “pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing” by excluding sentences for “rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences” from eligibility.
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Some 5,000 people are expected to be released early under sentencing changes, down from 6,000 after the exemptions announced as part of an urgent review of the scheme.
But under current plans, Cole and Bowers remain eligible to be freed halfway through their 13-year sentences after they were convicted of manslaughter in 2020 following Pc Harper’s death in 2019.
Downing Street has been contacted for comment about Mr Burnham reportedly weighing up options to block their release.
PC Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019.
He died after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a country road as three teenage suspects fled the scene of the burglary.
The driver of the vehicle, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence and would not be eligible for release.
Dame Mary Berry has lived in Henley‑on‑Thames, Oxfordshire, with her husband Paul Hunnings since 2019.
She joined the BBC show as a judge alongside Paul Hollywood when it launched back in 2010 and stayed until 2016, before the programme moved to Channel 4.
Now, the 91‑year‑old food writer and presenter has been discussing work on the garden at her Henley home during an appearance on the Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange podcast.
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Dame Mary explained that she and Mr Hunnings had decided to buy larger yew trees rather than wait years for smaller plants to grow.
The former Great British Bake Off judge said: “Evergreens, a yew is, we put hedges in a yew. And obviously you should buy evergreens like a yew. I suppose about two foot high and wait.”
Dame Mary then made clear why waiting was not a realistic option for her.
“Well, I’ll be in heaven then, so we had to buy them fairly big, I suppose they were about four foot because we needed them to get to the top of the tennis court netting,” she said.
The TV star and her husband moved to Henley to be closer to family after downsizing from their former home in Buckinghamshire.
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In a previous interview, Dame Mary said of her decision to move: “We didn’t want to move too far from our friends, and Henley is only a 35-minute drive.”
She added: “The town is beautiful. It has the river, and there are lots of interesting walks to do. As the years go, we will be able to walk into the town, and it will be nice to not have to get the car out.”
Dame Mary remains a familiar face on television and has continued to share her love of gardening as well as cooking.
Speaking at the Hay Festival earlier this year, she encouraged young people to “work hard and follow your dreams”.
Her garden in Henley includes a greenhouse, pond, beds and roses, while she has said she grows produce including red onions, lettuce and carrots.
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