Lib Dems Under Fire Over Their Statement on Family Home Conversions

Published on: 14 Jan, 2026
Updated on: 15 Jan, 2026

183 Applegarth Avenue GBC

By Martin Giles

A claim by the Lib Dem Group at Guildford Borough Council that they are leading the resistance to more conversions of family homes into Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) has been challenged by opposition councillors – with one member describing their claim as “shameful”.

HMO conversions normally mean that the houses are designed to be let to several independent tenants who are each allocated a bedroom but share living areas.

Last week councillors on Guildford’s Planning Committee voted to refuse two applications for HMOs in the Park Barn area.

Cllr George Potter

A subsequent Lib Dem press release said the committee supported a proposal by Cllr George Potter (Lib Dem, Burpham) to refuse permission for the conversion of two family homes to seven-bedroom HMOs on Applegarth Avenue on the grounds of harm to the character of the area and limited provision of parking.

The press release was headed: “Lib Dem councillors challenge HMO conversions at planning committee”.

But the leader of the Residents for Guildford and Villages Group, Cllr Joss Bigmore, criticised the Lib Dems for taking the credit and said the real champion was Howard Smith (Labour, Westborough).

Map showing number of HMOs in the Appegarth Avenue area. GBC

Cllr Howard Smith

Voicing his concerns about the proposal, Cllr Smith – who represents the ward in which the houses are located – told the committee: “There are 29 properties along that side of the road, of which 12 are large HMOs that comprises 41 per cent. For me, this is just way too much. This isn’t 10 per cent or 20 per cent, this is nearly half the road now and that’s a density issue.”

He pointed out that GBC’s policy stated that where houses were converted into flats, bedsits or HMOs the council was “required to ensure that there would not be an unacceptable impact on the character of the immediate locality”.

Multiple members of the Planning Committee spoke to stress that people living in HMOs was not itself a problem, but that their concern was when the character of a neighbourhood became fundamentally altered by excessive numbers of HMOs.

Councillors also urged the council to review its policy and consider introducing a requirement for smaller HMOs to get planning permission, on the basis that the council currently has no way of tracking the proportion of small HMOs in the town.

Two similar applications for the conversion of homes to large HMOs, in Queen Eleanor’s Road and Maple Grove, were approved by the committee at the same meeting on the grounds that the proportion of large HMOs on those streets was not yet unacceptably high.

After the meeting Cllr Smith said: “This is quite a U-turn for the Liberal Democrats, who on the Planning Committee have voted time and again to allow areas of our town to lose so many good family homes. There are now over 30 large HMOs in Applegarth Avenue (Park Barn) alone.

“Yesterday (January 13), I wrote to council leader Julia McShane (Lib Dem, Westborough) and planning portfolio holder Fiona White (Lib Dem, Ash Wharf) to see if they are serious about this, about developing new stronger policy on HMOs.

“I and others I’m sure would be very happy to work with them and it’s possible to do so speedily if they are sincere. It would be a shame for them to put out this statement then fail to follow through.”

Cllr David Bilbe

The Conservative views of the application were divided at the meeting. Cllr David Bilbe (Normandy) felt strongly that to refuse would be inconsistent.

A spokesperson for the Guildford Conservatives said today (January 14): “Whilst HMOs have a part to play in the provision of housing, it is the case that the proliferation of HMOs in certain parts of Guildford is causing harm to the character and amenity of those residential areas.

“But current planning policy is vague and until such a time that it may be strengthened in the next Local Plan, we would support the preparation of Supplementary Planning Guidance, as well as the introduction of an Article 4 Direction that would limit the concentration of HMOs in certain wards.”

Cllr Joss Bigmore

Criticising the Lib Dem press release, Joss Bigmore, who abstained in the vote, said: “This is shameful even by Liberal Democrat standards. They have been in power for nearly three years and have done nothing to give the Planning Committee more tools to resist to densification of HMOs despite the protestations of the Planning Committee.

“The real champion has been Howard Smith of Labour trying to highlight the changing character of parts of Westborough due to rapidly increasing numbers of HMOs. He deserves all the credit for his campaign and the Lib Dems trying to claim responsibility is very poor.”

The motion to refuse permission for the conversion of 183 Applegarth Avenue was approved by seven votes to three with two abstentions. A motion to refuse a similar application for 197 Applegarth was also refused by six votes to four with two abstentions.

Notably the Lib Dem chair of the Planning Committee, Vanessa King, presumably chairing for the last time following the announcement of her appointment as deputy council leader in the recent reshuffle, voted in line with planning officers’ recommendations against both motions to refuse.