Overview

• North East Lincolnshire’s full council voted to create a select committee to examine introducing a borough-wide Article 4 Direction for HMOs.
• A move to scrap the committee failed 19–18, after which councillors unanimously agreed the review should begin with borough-wide coverage.
• An Article 4 Direction would require planning applications for new small HMOs, would not prohibit HMOs, and cannot be applied to existing ones.
• Councillors pointed to resident complaints about the loss of family homes and issues in Heneage, Sidney Sussex and Park wards, alongside petitions for tighter controls.
• In Suffolk, Conservative group leader Beccy Hopfensperger has submitted a motion for West Suffolk to explore an Article 4 Direction, citing Haverhill concerns and precedents in Cambridge and Oxford.