THE proposal for a former fitness and beauty centre to be turned into a 15-bed house has sparked outrage across the local community.

Plans have been submitted to Oldham Council to change the use of 910-912 Ashton Road, Bardsley, into a house of multiple occupancy (HMO). At the time of writing, 11 objections to the proposals have been submitted on the council’s website.

A repeated concern in the comments is that the HMO will bring anti-social behaviour and crime to the “family orientated village”.

According to the public comments the HMO will be the third in the village, which does not have “enough means” to support the growing population.

One member of the local community wrote: “There is already an HMO in the area that already brings anti-social behaviour to the area. The Black Diamond was converted into an HMO and this building has an issue with fly tipping and additional waste it creates.”

Another added: “Tenants of HMO’S are short term residents, that do not have any intention to be part of any community, and they are very often associated with anti-social behaviour, which includes noise, litter ,etc.”

In another comment a member of the public wrote: “I worry because I have a teenager and the people that may live there could possibly put us at risk.”

“I feel this would bring unwanted crime to the area,” a separate resident adds.

The planning application alleges the residence will be close to a “wide array of shops, services an employment opportunities,” as well as being near offices, a church and a nursery.

However multiple commenters insist there is only one Premier shop in the village, one pub, and minimal work opportunities.

The nursery mentioned in the application is Simon House Nursery and Pre-School, one of three on Ashton Road.

A manager at the nursey told The Oldham Times that the proposal has “caused upset within the community” due to a “lack of communication.”

She added the nursery had not “heard anything” regarding the plans, despite being situated approximately 100m away and featuring within the application.

The Bardsley Community and Playing Fields Association said: “Bardsley has been acknowledge by Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (OMBC) itself in the Ward Profile 2019 as a “small village with its own identity”, it is a close-knit, family-based community. This proposed development would destroy that identity and harm the overall appeal of the area. 

The Association added: “Over the past three years Bardsley has already seen a dramatic increase in building development such as a new 29 house estate built on Keb Lane, The Black Diamond Pub already turned into a house of multiple occupancy (HMO), The Horseshoe Pub already been granted planning permission for a second HMO for 14 single people and so a third HMO would push this community to its limits. 


They concluded: “Overall, this development would be devastating to our community. Independent studies across the country show that HMOs attract “problem" tenants and have a strong tendency to increase crime and the level of anti-social behaviour in the area and have a lasting negative affect on the community and neighbourhood. We believe that this kind of development fails to fulfil OMBC's requirement that HMOs should not degrade our area's prevailing character.”

To read the full application visit the Oldham council website.