An application to convert a house in Litherland into a four-bedroom HMO was assessed at a planning committee meeting
19:45, 15 Jan 2026
Cheers and applause rang out at Bootle Town Hall last night (January 14), as a proposed new house of multiple occupancy (HMO) was rejected by Sefton Council’s planning committee. More than 600 people signed a petition to register their opposition to the HMO on a housing estate in Litherland, after a campaign led by a councillor.
The planning application was from a London-based company, and was submitted on October 17 last year. The applicant was seeking approval from Sefton Council for the change of use of 1A Fulwood Way, from a dwellinghouse to a four-bed HMO.
Fulwood Way is located in the council ward of St Oswald’s, represented by Cllr Joe Johnson, who spoke in opposition to the application at the planning committee meeting, he said: “I acknowledge there is absolutely a need for high quality HMOs in areas where there is demand.
“However, in St Oswald we already have one of the highest concentration of HMOs in Sefton. This can only be because property prices in our area are lower than others.
“Two councillors said to me recently that they don’t get these problems in their ward. Of course they don’t because property prices average £400,000 in their wards. As a result, we see landlords target our area purely for business purposes, creating an imbalance that is unfair to our community.”
According to official records, 1A Fulwood Drive is listed as a three-bed semi-detached property, and was last sold in January 2025 for £93,000. The new owner sought to convert the property into a four-room HMO and would likely rent each of those rooms.
The average room rent in Bootle is between £400 to £650, and the property on Fulwood Way could achieve a total monthly rent income of approximately £2,600.
Cllr Johnson added: “St Oswald suffers from high rates of crime and a large concentration of HMOs can lead to increased crime and anti-social behaviour. The officers’ report does not include any police data at all, why is that?
“I have the crime figures from Merseyside Police and the latest figures for St Oswald in November 2025 are 60 violent and sexual offences, 19 public order offences 18 criminal damage offences, and 11 anti social behaviour offences. These figures are for one month.
“The figures for the last 12 months show over 600 violent and sexual offences, nearly 200 public order offences, over 150 criminal damage offences and over 150 anti social behaviour offences.
“I know not all these incidents are directly linked to HMOs, however I can tell you that a significant portion of my casework involves complaints related to HMOs, crime and their occupants.
“Last year, some may remember there were two serious knife-related incidents involving HMOs in our ward, a male was arrested for walking around the Marion Square with a knife and three males were arrested in a HMO following a stabbing, both serious incidents and requiring large-scale police responses.
“These events and the issues we see around HMOs have heightened the fear among residents, and any additional HMOs will only increase that fear and pose risk of further crime.
“This proposed HMO on the Pendle Estate is an end terrace with the pathway being blocked at one end. This means you only have way in and one way out to access the property. There is poor lighting and no CCTV in the area. It is accessible through a walkway and is surrounded by fields.
“If approved, this will cause a disturbance to the neighbours and will significantly harm the character of the area with the added risk to safety and security for everyone.”
Cllr Johnson added: “This is not a suitable location for another HMO and approving it would increase crime and fear of crime and the risks to residents and will harm community cohesion and wellbeing. My request is that the committee refuse this application.”
The application to convert 1a Fulwood Way into a HMO was recommended for approval by the local authority’s planning department, but could not be automatically approved via permitted development rights due to a recent Article 4 Direction introduced by council leader Marion Atkinson. This directive now covers the whole of Sefton, and enables elected members to refuse HMO applications when they reach the committee stage.
These powers were utilised at last night’s meeting when councillors voted to refuse the application for 1a Fulwood Way. The decision was greeted by cheers and applause in the public gallery.