New HMO on Gibbs Road Alway Newport opposed by residents

A planning application was put forward to Newport City Council to convert a four-bed house on Gibbs Road into an eight-bed HMO.

Howard Barnes, a local resident of the Beechwood area in Alway, has said 80 – 82 Gibbs Road is “a nice family house”.

“We know the person trying to sell it wasn’t informed that it was going to be considered for a HMO and he’s as devastated as all the residents of the area.

Newport may have another HMO added to the list if the planning application is approved (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Barnes said HMO applications around Newport receive “negative publicity” is a big problem, going on to say:

“You never hear of one that’s good or good for the people living there. They’re in cramped rooms, in poorer areas”.

One area he mentioned was Pillgwenlly in Newport, where he said: “all the money that was spent on regeneration and we just seem to not be improving it”.

Louise, another resident that lives close by, said she feels “unsettled” at the idea of having an HMO near to her.

She said new residents of any house cause uncertainty on the street as “there could be antisocial behaviour or difficulties associated with a new family”.

But Louise mentions that the worry with HMOs is heightened.

“When this could be 16+ people (8 double bedrooms) in an unsuitable space (insufficient kitchen area and safe waste storage as per plans), on a dangerous junction where parking is already at a premium and more cars could add to this issue, as well as possible increased noise and disturbance due to reverberations from other properties, it’s much more worrying for the residents and for the  potential residents themselves”.

Mr Barnes said a way to resolve this would be to keep it as a family home, or even turn it into flats, saying, “families are short of accommodation as much as single people are”.

Four-bed house at 80-82 Gibbs Road in Alway, could be turned into an eight-bed HMO, worrying local residents. (Image: Newsquest)

A local action group is trying to prevent the HMO from being built at 80-82 Gibbs Road, listening to the “voice of the local community”, according to Louise.

The application has over one hundred comments, with all 106 commenters saying 'no' to the application (at the time of writing).

The comments cite parking, safety and an increase in litter as reasons for their objections.

The planning application was submitted by Mr Simon Bell of Mathieson and Bell Ltd.

A spokesperson from LRJ Planning Ltd, the agent working on behalf of Mathieson and Bell Ltd has issued the following statement:

"There is a large demand for the provision of single person accommodation within Newport and the provision of HMO’s help meet this demand.  

"The accommodation proposed as part of this scheme will be one that will offer a high standard of internal accommodation with access to outdoor amenity space.

"Future tenants will be carefully vetted by the applicant  and the property will be licenced and maintained to a high standard.

"Typically, such tenants include young professionals who work in a range of professions including the Council,  schools and hospitals.

A spokesperson for LRJ Planning said this is an example of the quality of the accommodation proposed, from another project (Image: LRJ Planning)

The LRJ Planning spokesperson also said:

"In the case of the scheme at Gibbs Road the proximity to public transport, as well as services and amenities in the nearby District Centre make the property particularly attractive for this type of much needed residential accommodation.

"The applicant works closely with the council to ensure meet a high level of safety and are registered with Rent Smart Wales".

Newport City Council is still reviewing the application, which was received on December 19, 2023.

Planning application no.: 23/1144