'The HMOs are knocking the heart out of our road'

'DESTROYED' BY HOMES CRAMMED WITH RENTERS

- From Adam Toms in Derby

RISING rental accommodation is ripping the soul out of a residential area, fed-up locals claim.

Their neighbourhood is being transported back to the Victorian era because houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) have destroyed their community, they say.

Former soldier Derek Culling, 76, who moved into his house in Brighton Road in Derby in 1990, said: “They're swamping areas and they’re just knocking the heart out of this road.”

The veteran, who used to enjoy parties in the garden with his neighbours, added: “I knew everybody along this street then.”

But now, the area seems “fractured”, and Mr Culling feels like he is living “in a barrel” after the properties on either side of his home were converted into HMOs, which resulted in “horrendous” noise.

He said: “We don’t know who’s next door. They haven’t caused any problems, don’t get me wrong.

“But they’re in and out, in and out all the time.”

The long-term resident said of the changes: “Gradually, it started to creep up from the top end of the street and then it came to me like a bolt of lightning.”

The ex-Army man said people move in and out every six months.

He added: “We spoke to the council many times and they just didn’t seem to be responsive. We'll just have to soldier on.”

Recalling times gone by, he said: “We used to be in and out of the house, and didn’t lock the doors.

“But, as time goes on, people pass away, and, as they die, these companies jump on the bandwagon.”

Mr Culling says he told the city council that it was “swamping the area” with HMOs often houses carved up into bedsits or flats.

In October, Derby City Council joined many other local authorities, such as Blackburn, Hull, Coventry and London boroughs, in approving plans to tighten rules on HMOs amid concerns about their “excessive” presence.