OLDHAM West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has called on the council to act on the “constant stream of applications for houses of multiple occupation (HMO) in the borough”.

Mr McMahon wants the local authority to roll out a policy in its upcoming Oldham Local Plan to make sure “residents’ concerns are not simply shifted from one district to the next”.

He has set out his thoughts on HMOs in a letter to the council as part of the consultation on the plan.

Mr McMahon said: “Since the last consultation the prominence of houses of multiple occupation has risen sharply, and I would press for action to be prioritised to address this head on.”

The MP does not want to see the streets “saturated with HMOs”.

He said: “We’ve seen developers take advantage of the fact that the government has weakened local council’s planning powers when it comes to HMOs and it’s my strong view that Oldham Council can and should do more to implement a policy across the borough that seeks to address residents’ concerns about the proliferation of HMOs.

“This is about getting the balance right and not concentrating problems in certain areas. We have to make sure that whole streets don’t end up saturated with HMOs and end up creating additional pressures and conflicts with local policies in areas like public health and transport.

“I’ve long advocated that neighbourhoods should be helped to co-design the future of their place in a meaningful way, and a fundamental building block to doing this is to listen to the concerns that residents already have about the places where they live.”

Mr McMahon also believes extra measures should be taken to protect important buildings in the town.

He said: “More should be done to safeguard historic buildings.

“While some high-profile buildings have rightly become of the focus of recent activity, such as the former bank and the Principal building, there are others on the edge of serious deterioration, including Manchester Chambers, the Masonic Hall, and the Lyceum Building.

“While some plans are being developed the lack of basic maintenance could undermine future development.”

In response to protecting buildings, council leader, Cllr Arooj Shah, said: “Oldham has so many brilliant heritage buildings across the borough and this really sets our town apart from others.  

“Our history is important to us and we do everything in our power to protect and preserve these buildings for future generations to come.

“Years of austerity means that we don’t always have the funds available to maximise the potential of these buildings – as much as we wish we did.

"But we work hard to maintain them and attract external funding and investment to support their futures.

“Our applications to the future High Streets Fund and Towns Fund are great examples of this recently.

"Our award-winning work to transform the Old Town Hall proves our vision and capabilities to breathe new life into our much-loved heritage buildings.

“Many buildings however are in private ownership.

"Where they are dangerous we take action to protect the public. We also actively work with partners and private owners to support them to protect and re-use these important heritage assets as much as we possibly can.

“Those wanting to find out more can read our Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan.

"This supports our commitment to looking after our important historic buildings, and as much as possible, bringing them back to life through our regeneration strategy.”