Meeting hears ‘yet another’ HMO could add to Bideford’s crime rate

Approving more houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) is not going to help Bideford town centre’s worrying crime rate, claims a local councillor.

Councillor Doug Bushby was against plans to change offices in 11 and 12 Mill Street into a HMO for five people at a Torridge District Council planning meeting, saying there was already an ‘overabundance’ of them in the main shopping area.

The councillor said there was seven or eight HMOs within 250 metres of the application site and he had often seen police officers coming out of them.

He told the meeting that Bideford town centre was now considered ‘a high crime area’ and had recently been upgraded to get more intense hot spot policing.

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Almost half of the 113 crimes reported in May 2025 in Bideford West, which includes the main shopping area, were of a violent or sexual nature, according to Devon and Cornwall police.

Shoplifting was also a concern and the councillor claimed the Coop store 20 yards up the road from the application site had lost £88,000 from shoplifting last year.

Cllr Bushby said: “I cannot say these offences are created by people living in HMOs but over the last couple of years I have seen police come out of various properties bringing out individuals that have been arrested. There are always raids in there, it is an active police area.”

Cllr Jane Whittaker said she agreed the high street was not the place for HMOs although housing was ‘desperately needed’.

The meeting was told, however, the police did not object to the development and anti-social behaviour was influenced by the management of the HMO and behaviour of the occupants. Such behaviour could not be controlled under the planning process.

Bideford Town Council, although objecting to the plans on overdevelopment grounds, did not raise the matter of desirability, the meeting heard.

The intention was to house vulnerable and homeless people in this accommodation.

Cllr Chris Leather said there was a real need for this type of accommodation, which was specifically aimed at young people under 35.

He said the issue of crime was for the police to deal with not planners.

He added: “You can’t blame people who are on their own who need affordable accommodation for all the crime that is going on in an area.” Studies suggest HMOs, especially those that are overcrowded or poorly managed, can be associated with increased crime rates, although most of the evidence is anecdotal.

Recently a council leader in Kent said HMOs were ‘magnets for crime and anti-social behaviour’ and that ‘HMOs don’t have a place in a modern civilised housing economy’.

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But others say that shared living spaces can be one of the best solutions to the housing crisis, being affordable and creating a powerful connection between inhabitants suffering loneliness.

The planning committee agreed to the change of use of offices to an HMO.