Inverness "junkie street" row ends in one-year bedsits ban

A YEAR suspension on planning permission for any new bedsits in Inverness has been agreed by members of the Highland Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee.

It comes amid business leaders’ concerns about the link between Houses of Multiple Occupancy HMOs and anti-social behaviour. There are 10 houses in multiple occupation (HMO) currently in the city centre, licenced for 149 occupants.

The Highland News first highlighted problems with HMOs in the city centre back in May. Business bosses and staff on Baron Taylor’s Street, which was labelled "Junkie Street" by workers there, claimed drug peddlers were often doing deals, trying to sell stolen goods and harassing passers-by, as well as defecating in doorways.

Staff working in the street alleged the escalating anti-social behaviour was a result of HMOs in the area, including a supported accommodation directly above the William Hill shop, acting as a magnet for undesirable characters.

But Paul Monaghan, the director of the Highland Homeless Trust which manages that accommodation, claimed that no link could be made between the people living there and any trouble which may occur on the streets.

The 12-month ban on any new HMOs in the centre comes after a six-week public consultation on five options on the concentration of bedsits.

Business Improvement District (BID) leaders Mike Smith and Craig Duncan as well as Mark Burnside, chairman of the Victorian Market Traders Association, handed over almost 200 submissions back in August, with the majority supporting a halt on the number of bedsits in the city centre.

Chairman of the council's planning committee, Councillor Ian Ross said: "HMOs provide an important element of the housing stock in Inverness and across the Highlands. The agreed changes to the guidance will allow us to effectively manage the future concentration of HMOs while still letting us meet our statutory duties to house people who present themselves as homeless.

"This moratorium will allow us to ensure we have a fully joined up approach across all our services with an effective solution in place to allow us to have successful HMOs in the city centre."