‘We’re ghettoised in this area’: Hundreds protest plans for a pub

Hundreds of angry residents turned out to protest the conversion of a pub near Wigan town center into a house in multiple occupation (HMO). They gathered outside the Crispin Arms on Birkett Bank, in the Scholes area of ​​the town, to object to plans to turn it into a 15-bedroom residence.

Two independent councillors, Maureen O’Bern and Tony Whyte, were also there as nearly 300 people from neighboring streets met to register their anger at the “proliferation” of HMOs in the town. Passing drivers honked their horns in approval as the crowd of protesters grew in number.

Coun O’Bern, who is also standing as an independent candidate for Wigan in Thursday’s (July 4) general election, claims up to 70% of HMOs in the town are owned by out-of-town investors. Applicant Remko Holdings Ltd submitted an application to redevelop the pub, which became vacant last year, for the change of use, which they say will “help address housing demand in Wigan and reduce pressure to develop green and green belt areas”.

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However, ex-serviceman Steven Anderson, 66, said he was facing eviction after receiving a Section 21 notice and claimed he would soon be homeless. “These HMO properties are not made available to people on the housing waiting list,” he said. “Soon I will be homeless and properties like this will be for others but me.

“The owner of the property I live in is evicting me after nine years of raising the rent due to rising mortgage rates.”

Coun Whyte added: “If such properties are allocated to people on the current housing waiting list there would be nothing wrong.

“But that’s not the case. They are given to people with drug addiction problems and people on bail from criminal proceedings, which creates big anti-social problems in this area.”

Neighbors Paige Dickinson, 57, and her daughter Jacqueline, 31, said there were anti-social problems in the area. They claim it started when the Crispin Arms was a working pub. “It was awful,” Paige said.

“And it will be even worse if it becomes an HMO. There are many vulnerable people living here and they are worried about what will happen.

“There are already huge problems with crime, drug dealing and anti-social behavior in this area around other nearby HMOs.”

Jacqueline said: “What we really need here is some sort of mini-store, like a Tesco, or a building that could be used by the community.” Sharon Poole, 55, said she lived next to an HMO in a nearby street.

“There is noise, excessive littering and a lot of anti-social behaviour,” she said. “We are ghettoized in this area.”

Coun O’Bern added: “We have reached saturation point with HMOs. About 70% of these are owned by out-of-town investors. Some of them don’t even live in this country.

“They are taking the price out of our homes. Women and children should not be accommodated in hotels and guesthouses. Wigan Council must address this issue.”

There are currently 183 licensed HMOs with five or more tenants making up more than one household and sharing a toilet, bathroom and kitchen in Wigan, according to the city’s register of such properties in the city.

The Crispin Arms planning application is available to view online on Wigan council’s planning portal using reference number A/24/97369/CU.

A Wigan Council spokesman said: “The council has received a planning application for a house in multiple occupation at the Crispin Arms, Birkett Bank. Comments can be submitted via our website and a decision will be made on the application in due course.”