Last night the Council, all in a good cause, launched a year long landlord tsunami on Beeston

Last night, Broxtowe Borough Council's Jobs and Economy Committee made the decision to work towards the introduction of a Article 4 (planning) Direction regulating the number of HMOs in all of Beeston Central ward and and parts of the other three Beeston wards (see my Beeston council tax exemptions map below). Click on map to enlarge). 

For Beeston Central ward's two Labour councillors, Lynda and Pat Lally, this was a moment they had been working towards for a good few years and Lynda's concern about the fact that it was going to take a year to do was understandable because she and her husband Pat were only too fully aware of the landlord tsunami they were about to unleash on Beeston. Assuming the Government grants the Article 4 Direction, as from 27 February 2021 ALL HMOs in the mapped area will be regulated and subject to planning permission and in some parts of Beeston no more will be allowed — hence the landlord tsunami as they rush to beat the deadline.

Lynda Lally thanked Beeston Civic Society for their support over the years and it is under their banner that I have done my mapping and report writing. The maps below are maps I have produced for the Civic Society although the opinions expressed are my own.

The Borough's Planning Officer made the point that even though the Jobs and Economy Committee was about to make a momentous decision, there was no guarantee that they would be successful — the Government could decide to reject the Article 4 Direction application because there was evidence which suggested there would be a surplus of student accommodation across Greater Nottingham in four years time as more student accommodation blocks are built. Anyone who lived through Lenton's takeover by private landlords will tell you that this was a story told more than once in Dunkirk and Lenton as the (Labour) City Council delayed and delayed the introduction of an Article 4 Direction. When they did it was too late! 

As another councillor pointed out, it is a pity that the focus is on students when there are a good many non-student HMOs in Beeston. As I have repeatedly said in this blog since February 2015, when I produced and posted my first maps and tables, the data for non-student households doesn't exist. The nearest you can get to tracking them is via the electoral roll. However many overseas nationals, despite having a vote in local elections, choose not to register now that voter registration is voluntary. 

The fact that my registered HMO maps are able to show non-student HMOs is because I cross-reference student council tax exemption postcodes with postcodes listed in Broxtowe's HMO Register against addresses. I know how the Lynda and Pat feel, given the former Conservative led Borough Council showed no interest in what was a problem and this was echoed by the Borough's Planning Office the last time I heard him speak. Last night he was whistling a slightly different tune but his words leave me suspecting his commitment to the task the Jobs and Economy Committee set him last night. We shall see. 

Two of the Conservatives on the Committee abstained, one voted against. I'm afraid I don't know their names but the one who spoke sounded like a spokesman for those landlords who will actively oppose the Article 4 Direction regulation HMOs in Beeston whilst buying up all the properties they can. I suspect the next 12 months will see a good few families leaving Beeston as they take advantage in the house price surge which is hitting Beeston already — my own house has, according to Zoopla, has added over £100,000 to its value since we bought it 5 years ago. Coincidence or what but we are about to get a 6 bed HMO at the entrance to the cut-de-sac on which we live. Once an Article 4 Direction is in place, house prices will fall dramatically, simply because the landlord feeding frenzy will be over. Family homeowners know this. 2020 is going to be the year to sell in Beeston if you want to get a (very) good price.

How do I know all this? Quite simply, I lived in Lenton for 35 years and sold after Nottingham City Council introduced, very belatedly, introduced its own Article 4 Direction regulating all HMOs — which is why I spent the past five years describing the private landlord take over of Beeston as 'Lentonisation' (read my note below).

For now, what happens will be in the capable hands of Liberal Democrat Councillor Tim Hallam, the Jobs and Economy Committee Chair, who was, effectively, given delegated power to oversee the process of ensuring that an Article 4 (HMO) Direction order covering much of Beeston gets Government approval and is introduced a year from now. I am in no doubt that he has a tough fight on his hands. I wish him well.

He also made the point (which I have heard him make before) that Stapleford could well do with a few more students.

For now, here are the 4 pages which made up my note to the Jobs and Economy Committee last night with the support of Beeston & District Civic Society:

Should Broxtowe be considering further HMO licensing before an Article 4 Direction?

This is a copy of the response I am sending to Broxtowe Borough Council's Chief Executive. I hope it is self-explanatory!

Click on each page to enlarge.

The Euro Election, the Stapleford South East ward election and a Borough Election footnote...

I cast my postal vote today in the Euro Election. I have been in the habit of spoiling my Euro Election ballot paper because I believe the Party List system is undemocratic. Take the East Midlands. Five names per party, so if a party gets c.40% they get two MEPs and the top two names listed by the Party are elected. Voters have no say in who is elected and it is unnecessarily complicated! I would amend the system to give me five votes for named individuals instead of one vote for a Party, so I might vote 3 Labour and 2 Greens and Labour might get 30% of the votes and the Greens 20%. Labour would get at least 2 MEPs who would be the candidates who got the most votes - NOT necessarily the Party’s choices. 

The Labour Party continues to flounder when it comes to Europe despite saying quite clearly ‘Labour accepts the Referendum result’. It is split just like the Conservatives. We are either in or out. We can leave soft or we can leave hard. If we leave I’d like it to be ‘soft’, with as little disruption as possible but, like it or not, the Euro Election on the 23rd is, in effect, going to be ‘The People’s Vote’ / 2nd referendum but not a ‘Confirmatory vote’ because no one knows, as at today, what the terms of our leaving are going to be! So, if you want to leave you’ll vote Brexit or UKIP. If you want to stay**, you’ll vote Change UK, Liberal or Green and I have cast my postal vote for the latter today. Voters and the media will aggregate these votes and ignore what Conservative and Labour votes there are (though it could be argued both are in the leave camp). I suspect the two right-wing nationalist Parties will carry the day. There is still a lot of anger out there. In other words we have to hope Labour can, after weeks of negotiations with May, deliver a soft Brexit.

**Outside England there will be other remain parties to vote for and if Scotland votes decisively different to England then independence will be back on the agenda big time (I would be an independence voter if I was in Scotland).

I want to stay in the EU but in the absence of a majority of votes for the three pro-EU political parties  on 23rd May then the arguments for another EU vote of any kind will be dead. This is a mess of Parliament’s making and the confrontational politics of first past the post (FTP)... 

...and please please don’t pretend we have a coalition government now. What we have is a mess and far too many MPs who are craven.

I have no idea of what is going to happen in the delayed Stapleford South East Ward Borough Election on 13th June, but in 2015 all the Parties were close.* Anna Soubry claims it is between the Conservatives and Liberals. The national scene is so unpredictable that any last minute event could tip the result regardless of how much effort local councillors and activists put in. One thing is certain. The Conservatives have to be defeated make life easier for Labour and the Liberals to run Broxtowe Borough Council.

*Highest votes for each Party in 2015:

836 – Conservatives
781 – Labour
672 – Liberal

Given the Liberals performance in the nearby wards of  Beeston North and Bramcote in the Borough Elections on 2nd May just gone they must fancy their chances. 

The voters in Stapleford South East ward are going to be get the attention of national politicos and the media for sure, and with the closing date for nominations being this coming Thursday 16th May, what other political parties and groups will be putting up candidates? We will know soon enough.

It may be that a outsider will take it. I doubt if Broxtowe has had a ward election like this one in its history.

Finally, the few who visit my blog will know that I believe with increasing numbers of houses being occupied by students comes declining electoral rolls. I call it 'Lentonisation' because this was certainly the case in neighbouring Lenton, where the number of city councillors representing the are has fallen from 4 to 3 in the latest ward boundary review, and I have made the same prediction for Beeston. I was fully expecting to see a decline in registered voters and as the table below shows it hasn't happened — yet.

I stand by my prediction. It took Lenton a good 25 years to change out of all recognition population-wise as more and more owner-occupier families sold to private landlords and house prices escalated beyond the reach of families and other would be Lenton residents.

For now the Beeston ward totals show that only in Rylands have voter numbers decreased, then by only 26 votes. 

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England at the time of their Broxtowe ward boundary review in 2013 estimated the number of voters by ward and I have included their estimates in the final column (in italics). Both Central and North ward are well over the LGBCE estimate and I suspect this is student related. New housing developments add to the totals but these have yet to materialise on a large scale. There is Broadgate and the old fire/bus station site in the pipeline.

I hope I am around in 2023 to see what has happened by then.

Mapping Council Tax Exempt student property in the Broxtowe Borough Counccil area

The six maps below have been created using data listing 567 properties I received from Broxtowe Borough Council today. I will add comparative data in a few days.

If I can create these maps (and the earlier Beeston HMO Map below) with my very limited I.T. skills then it should be easy enough for others to do it better than me. For now I publish my maps without comment (click on a map to enlarge):

At best the data has to be taken as a guide and needs more attention than I can presently give it. Compare the map of Beeston council tax exemption properties above with the map of Beeston HMOs below. Broadgate (pin showing 10) and Low Road (pin showing 14) in particular. This may a case of where multiple entries for the same postcode do not show up on the council tax exempt map — in other words my council tax exempt property map for Beeston should have more 'pins' than it does.

Did fear of a ‘urban’ -v- ‘rural’ unitary council split scupper Conservative plans for a unitary county council?

The Nottinghamshire unitary county consultation report/summary/analysis makes interesting reading, An idea that was obviously gaining ground was that the more urban councils should split from the more rural councils.

There was less support for one county-wide unitary council than two councils. To quote from the report:

‘Overall, there was much more support for two unitary councils than for one (64% favoured two, while 36% favoured one). There was also more support for two in all seven of the districts/boroughs. The views of local authority staff were somewhat more evenly divided: 47% preferred one and 53% preferred two unitary councils.’

Also:

‘A North-South split would be distinctly unpopular with political leaders across the districts. A West-East split would be much more politically acceptable because it would reflect the aspirations of local political leaders and create two ‘harmonious’ unitary authorities. A single UA – though much the best solution in terms of service delivery and financial viability – might have difficulty in achieving effective political majorities or working arrangements between the different parties The east of the county would be fearful that it was ‘subsidising’ the poorer west.’

Broxtowe depends on Nottingham and now the county’s plans are dead Nottingham can happily back off and there will be no more talk of mergers with surrounding councils by the city, although the county’s more urban councils might still like to be free of the county’s more rural councils.

Perhaps a Broxtowe-Ashfield-Gedling (eventually unitary) ‘partnership’ council might emerge from all this, able to work with the city, given they share so many common interests. We shall see.

In the meantime a link to the consultation report:

http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/1727147/opinionresearchservicesreport.pdf


The following two tables from the Report may be of interest (click on images to enlarge):

Notice that some of those responding lived in Nottingham. Some Voluntary sector participants were of the view that district and parish councillors were more supportive of their activities than county councillors — hence the opposition to one unitary Nottinghamshire council.

Notice to low level of participation in the survey by younger people. Older folk are cursed for participating and blamed for determining the future of young people. In truth, younger voters hold the future in their own hands. They had every bit the same opportunity as a 70 year old to participate. Maybe we need to wear badges saying 'I'm voting. Will you?

A different look at Beeston HMOs.

The following two tables have taken a few days to compile and may well be out of date already as they are based on the copy of Broxtowe Borough Council's Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Register I received on 4 December 2018.

Anyone can submit a Freedom of Information request to Broxtowe Borough Council if they wish to obtain an up-to-date copy. As I have commented in previous posts I am surprised that HMOs and Council Tax exemption records are not presented to all councillors annually. 

I intend this year to be my last year of summarising the available data, with one final report at the end of this month. In the meantime, examine the data for yourself. I will also make a map version over the next two weeks.

Remember to click on the tables to enlarge.

A slovenly indictment or a measure of pressure? — Broxtowe Borough Council's Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Register

This HMO table has become a holding operation. I’ve decided to compile a new version based on years in chronological order so that Beeston residents can see how HMO registration has (or not!) progressed. The more I see the more I feel the need to map the obvious - that Broxtowe Borough Council has never taken changing housing needs in Beeston seriously and continues to have no policy/strategy.

Regular readers will know this is something I’ve been going on about for a few years now. 

In the meantime I will be back with a Beeston HMO map, a list of anomalies and some concerns I have. In the meantime you might like to examine my 2018 Beeston HMO Table based on the copy of the Register I received earlier this week after submitting a Freedom of Information request (click on the table to enlarge):

For the record ALL Broxtowe’s HMOs are in Beeston, except for one in Nuthall.

One final point for now. I can’t understand for one moment why HMO registrations are so low when all the evidence suggests the total should be much higher. More about this when I add to this post on Sunday/Monday.

Mapping what's best for Beeston

Click on the map to enlarge (please contact me if you would like a PDF 300lpi version emailed to you) — Robert Howard.

The map above has been created to examine and ponder. If I have shown anything wrong in terms of the data I have used, then please contact me. All the data has come from the statutory bodies and some is not yet available.

I have added Heritage Open Day locations since my first version because I want to show how Beeston pulls places in Nottingham into its orbit as well as the other way round. During the month I spent in the Beeston High Road pop-up shop I met lots of interesting people, a good few regular visits from places like Bilborough and Bulwell as well as Wollaton. Most came here to shop, liking the fact that there were plenty of places to snack and get a drink. The fact that Beeston & District Civic Society publicises history events in Bilborough and Strelley is yet another example of Beeston relates more to the city than to the northern half of Broxtowe Borough.

Also bear in mind the Nottingham City Council is already a unitary council — Nottinghamshire County Council is not!  Becoming one will cost a lot of money because it will involve merging data and services presently provided by the 7 district councils, including Broxtowe Borough Council, with that of the county council

Beeston has little in common with any of them, including Broxtowe. It is by any measure part of the Nottingham conurbation sharing many of the same interests and problems as neighbouring Nottingham City Council wards.

If Beeston residents sit on their backsides and do nothing they will find themselves isolated in a small of corner of a county council which shares none of its interests or problems, some of which I have addressed in previous posts to this blog.

The purpose of this post is share the map I have created with as many people as possible. I don't do Facebook or other social media so I am hoping others with these skills will spread my map far and wide because they believe it to be in the best interests of Beeston — like I do!

There has been an online 'consultation' which finishes tomorrow are less than 4 weeks with no land address for written submission.

I posted a link in my 21 October 2018 blog, which you can click onto here.

The consultation document is a farce but the game begins in earnest in May 2019 after the local elections. From now on we need to argue the case for Beeston becoming part of Nottingham and we need to elect councillors who; IF faced with a choice, will choose joining with Nottingham City Council and not Nottinghamshire County Council.

A P.S.  Today I joined Facebook so I could share this map on the Beeston Update Facebook 'public' space and someone kindly pointed out that I had a Liberal councillor in Kimberley instead of a Labour councillor. This map is now amended. I got some positive feedback, but I will continue to blog. I hate how Facebook keeps throwing stuff at you and suggesting 'friends' I have never heard of. It is not a website I will be posting directly to more than I have to.

A map showing Beeston in relation Broxtowe Borough Council and Nottingham City Council wards plus the Parliamentary case for Beeston going with Nottingham

A few days ago, in my last blog, I posted the first version of the map below. Here is the 4th version and this is how it will stay bar tweaking. Over the next week or so it will be joined by versions showing the total electorate in each ward, the area covered by the annual Beeston & District Heritage Open Days programme and a Council Tax version based on Band 'A'.

In addition there is the fact that in September just gone  the Government accepted the Boundary Commission's report on proposed new Parliamentary constituencies which MPs will have to agree, assuming the Government proceeds with trying to get the new constituencies in place for the next General Election. This will lead to the new Nottingham West and Beeston constituency, which includes all the Broxtowe Borough Council Beeston wards and the Attenborough & Chilwell East ward — yet further (and strong) evidence of the argument that Beeston should join with Nottingham City Council.

Click on the map to enlarge.

It's time for Beeston to wave good bye to Broxtowe Borough Council

I've spent an adult life mapping local issues and today I have compiled a map based on Broxtowe Borough Council's own website. 

The map speaks for itself. This at a time when the Conservative led Nottinghamshire County Council is pushing through a super fast consultation on the future of local government in the county (excluding Nottingham City Council) which could result in Conservative councillors across the county having even more control over Beeston. I've come to the conclusion it's time to wave goodbye to Broxtowe Borough Council and to campaign for a fourth option: that Beeston can join with Nottingham City Council. I will argue again for this option in a few days time. In the meantime look at my map and ponder, then go and fill in the County Council's rather dubious online questionnaire.

The green wards have councillors who voted to sell Beeston Town Hall and the red wards voted against selling the Town Hall. In no ward was there a split vote but councillors did abstain in Kimberley and Stapleford North, so one can reasonably assume they can live with the decision to sell Beeston Town Hall.

Click on map and vote record to enlarge.

I believe my map tells its own story. Beeston is isolated from the rest of Broxtowe Borough in so many ways. It graphically shows where the few Labour and even fewer Liberal Democrat councillors are.

The chances of Labour winning back control of Broxtowe on its own are small. In other words it will almost certainly have to govern post-May 2019 with the support of Liberal councillors. Given that this assumption is reasonable and I have seen no evidence to suggest otherwise, then logic says Labour and the Liberal Democrats need to be talking now so that over the next six months they can use their resources to best advantage.

'Heresy' I hear you say and you will be right, but I make no apology for telling it as it appears to me.

If, between them, Labour and Liberal Democrats by their desire to go it alone allow the Conservatives to hold onto Broxtowe Borough Council to its very end then they will be doing a grave disservice to the people of Broxtowe.

I am no fan of Liberal Democrats, but deeply regret that Labour failed to find a way to work with them after its 2010 General Election defeat. We live with the consequences every day.

The best to avoid being governed by Conservatives councillors or having to do deals with Liberal Democrat councillors is to become part of a Greater Nottingham City Council at the first opportunity — something I will return to again and again over coming months, even taking myself onto Beeston High Road with a banner to argue the cause if I have to!

How many £250,000s' does it take to make a Nottinghamshire doughnut?

Nottinghamshire County Council

is offering Beeston to make part of a doughnut 

Four more stories on the BBC News today* about the County Council's plan to create a unitary Nottinghamshire Council, which excludes Nottingham City Council (already is a unitary council).

The first one says the County Council has voted itself £250,000 of our money to progress the idea and to carry out 'a consultation'.  This decision was made with the help of four Mansfield Independent Forum county councillors and (I am assuming) the support of the Conservative leader of Broxtowe Borough Council. The best the Conservatives have been offering Beeston since they came to power is crumbs

Broxtowe Conservatives feed Beeston crumbs

The second story says that a Mansfield Independent Forum council on the said district council is moving a motion opposing the idea and expects MIF's county councillors to support him.

The third story was about Ashfield councillors who walked to County Hall in West Bridgford to demonstrate their opposition to the County Council's plan.

Nottingham City Council may offer Beeston the chance to join them in the kitchen so we can all eat better and grow healthy together

The final story was that Nottingham City Council has reiterated its own proposal, should the County Council's plan ever grow legs, to propose the extension of the city council area to include the Greater Nottingham conurbation.

So, what does Beeston want?

To be part of a county council doughnut,

To continue surviving on Broxtowe crumbs

or to be in the kitchen helping to make Greater Nottingham a healthy place to live?

The Conservatives in Broxtowe offer us crumbs and I wonder how many more £250,000s Nottinghamshire County Council will spend on its power grab?

Broxtowe Borough Council is running short of money, hence the support of its Leader for the Council Council's 'doughnut' solution.

Logic says we should support Nottingham City Council and to share Beeston's enterprise with the wider conurbation.

* NOTE.  All the stories have disappeared from the visible BBC News website before I could provide links. 

Council Tax exemptions data update

As regular readers of BeestonWeek will know I have a thing about council tax exempt properties, especially in relation to occupants in 'full-time education', generally referred to as 'student housing'.

My 'thing' relates to how too much student housing in any one area (eg. Lenton, Beeston) upsets the 'balance' of a street and the community it is part of. You have to look no further than electoral rolls for evidence of this fact. In turn this impacts on local shops, schools, house prices and local government revenue in the form of council tax income and any additional services as a result of the exemptions .

In February 2015 I Broxtowe Borough Council kindly provided me with data which I used to create a table of council tax exempt properties in the Borough by street and areas, plus a map of Beeston showing the density of council tax exempt properties by street (you can still see all this in my pages section to the right, where there are links).

At the end of 2016 I began the process of trying to update the data, but Broxtowe Borough Council refused me the data I requested. After I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Broxtowe Borough Council I was promised the data for mid-March 2017. I didn't chase it because by then I was in hospital having just had open heart surgery. When I did get onto it in April, there were clearly problems because the council officer who compiled the data in 2015 had left and what detailed data I was given was clearly inaccurate, so we arranged that I would have the data by the end of May (ie. about now).

In the event the data problems have continued, but I have found myself in contact with the person who has responsibility for compiling the data. After exchanging e-mails and on reflection we have agreed to compile detailed data about council tax exempt properties in Broxtowe for the end of September 2017. This has the advantage of coinciding with the beginning of the new academic year and the preparation of draft budgets for the next financial year.

As I have said on countless occasions this is not a party political issue as far as I am concerned. The fact that I am a Labour Party member does not prevent me from working with members of other political parties when it comes to council tax exempt properties. I believe a joint approach to this sensitive issue makes sense.

I was recently invited to write a contribution to the Beeston & District Civic Society Newsletter on the issue. I don't know whether it has been used, but I have just noticed an error on my part, brought about by me transposing two digits and, as a consequence, turning £590,000 in £950,000. The former is, according to a senior Broxtowe Borough Council officer in an e-mail to a borough councillor, 'The full council tax charge for Broxtowe residents in full time education in 2016/16 is around £590,000' (includes Borough, County, Police and Fire precepts).

Given that a 1p council tax charge produces c£53,000, then 11p of our charge goes to covering the lost council tax exemption income before any services are provided. The officer in question says 'The cost to (Broxtowe Borough Council) will be around £59,000'.

My numerical 'slip' may have been my mind thinking that in just a few years council tax exempt properties in Broxtowe will be costing council tax payers nearer £1,000,000.

I also know that this is not an issue Broxtowe borough councillors have investigated. Given the sums of money involved this is remiss of them. Even when they do see this information, as I know one councillor has, its significance seems to pass them by.

I am now extremely hopeful that the data I am working on with Broxtowe Borough Council will be shared with councillors and some way of putting the data in the public domain will be found which ensures a constructive dialogue takes place. Given the interest now being shown by Beeston & District Civic Society I hope they can be the mechanism by which this data reaches a wider audience.

The decline of mums and rise of private landlords in Beeston. 'Lentonisation' in a word.

Yesterday I caught a glimpse of Beeston's future if market forces have their way.

I really do applaud the enterprise of Charlotte and Steve Purdie, who are the driving force behind a new kind of eatery on Chilwell Road. It's called The Milk Lounge and it will open next week, but mums and buggies were already going in and out yesterday morning. It's a great website and well worth a visit. It will explain the aims of the Purdie family far better than I ever can.

The Milk Lounge has two sides and the one on the right is laid out like a play/sensory area and its bee image captures the feel of what should be a fun place for babies, toddlers, mums and families.

Now you may wonder what this has to do with private landlords?

Yesterday we came home to find the postcard below had been pushed through our letterbox. It asks the question 'Do you know how much your house is worth to an investor in student property? We do!.'

Click on the card to enlarge the text and read clearly. Also visit the PurpleFrog website so you can see for yourself how Beeston as well as Nottingham is being targeted.

We live on the edge of what was once the Beeston Fields Council Estate in a former council house. With so many sold to occupiers after Mrs Thatcher decided it would be a good thing to scrap council housing. Today, the number of council houses is probably in a minority and there is a good chance that there are as many private landlord owned houses as owner occupied properties on the estate.

In other words private landlord 'investor(s)' can make a profit out of owning even a small council house by renting it out to students, thereby qualifying for council tax exemption. Living rooms can be turned into bedrooms. The garden may well be large enough for an extension to be built. It will be impossible for Broxtowe Borough Council to refuse planning permission when a private 'investor'/ landlord submits a planning application because it has no registration scheme limiting occupants and property types and many houses already have extensions.

The number of council tax exempt properties in Beeston is probably growing at the rate of one a day based on what information I have already from Broxtowe Borough Council. I am waiting for more detailed information, as I mentioned in my blog post dated 8 April 2017. Based on the information I have I estimate there are presently around 1200 council tax exempt properties in Beeston (in 2015 there were 519) — an increase of 681 in two years. I await the promised information with interest.

In the meantime back to Beeston mums and why they are vanishing. The simple truth is that young families are being priced out of Beeston by a mixture of house prices and rising rents because of private landlord investors. I call this process 'Lentonisation' and I have blogged about this before (most recently in November 2016).

The Milk Lounge will, I'm sure, be a success and prove popular with mums, but over time the number of Beeston mums using The Milk Lounge will decline. What the Lenton experience shows is that oldies like us hold on as long as we can, but first time buyers and young families are priced out.

Only time will prove me right, but one thing is certain, Nottingham University is going to continue to expand and will need ever more accommodation for students. There are ways around the problem, two year degree courses based on 46 weeks teaching instead of 30 weeks as at present. More distance learning.

Students are not of themselves the problem and many want to live in the local community, but because Broxtowe Borough Council does not regulate the number of council tax exempt properties they end up living in ghettoes and not a 'balanced/mix community' (the Council talks about the latter, but there is no evidence that they actually care).

I will save writing about the loss of council tax income across the Borough and County to another day. The truth is local government services suffer and I believe all three main political parties in Beeston and on Broxtowe Borough Council are culpable. They have all helped to create the situation I have described above.

The devil is in the detail when it comes to student housing in Broxtowe

Yesterday I received two headline nuggets of data from Broxtowe Borough Council about student housing in the borough, with the street by street breakdown to follow.

As soon as I have it I will compile up-to-date maps and a table comparing 2015 data with 2017 data. Before I publish it I will share it with the Council just in case they have any questions concerning the way I have presented the data (it will the same format as in 2015. You can see the 2015 tables in the right-hand column across from this post).

You only have to look at the street by street totals for 2015 to understand why I say the devil is in the detail. It is going to be fascinating seeing whether the increases are spread across Broxtowe or clustered as in 2015. I have a good idea of what I expect the street by street data to show, so watch this blog for an update, probably towards the end of April.

Council tax exempt properties and Broxtowe Borough Council continued...

Today, I have used the What Do They Know website to submit a revised freedom of information (FOI) request for information about council tax exempt properties in the Broxtowe Borough Council area and added a request for information about registered houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in the borough. This time I have made it day and date specific: 1 January 2017.

In addition, I have made a separate FOI concerning council tax income lost to Broxtowe Borough Council because of registered exemptions for the financial years 2014/15, 2015/16 and to 2016/17, and much was recovered from central government?

Being open with Broxtowe Borough Council clearly does not work, so from now on I will use the What Do They Know website for all my requests for information.

This morning I have used the internet to search for student lets currently being advertised as located in Beeston by the Zoopla and Unipol websites and captured the two maps below. 

The web is awash with such information, which makes me wonder even more as why Broxtowe Borough Council has used the FOI Act to refuse me information about the total number of council tax exempt properties by street (not the location of individual properties — something I have never requested)?

Broxtowe Borough Council recently provided me with information about the number of registered voters by street. Using their logic my use of this information to create maps reveals to criminals the best streets to steal from — the more voters in a street the more there is to steal — so they should have refused me the information. Once you would have got this direct from electoral registers, but not any more (unless you are a representative of a registered political party who needs the information for canvassing etc, mailings etc).

Probably what annoys me most about all this is that my reasonable concern about maintaining some kind of 'community balance' in Beeston and across the Borough of Broxtowe becomes seen as 'anti-student' which it is not. My track record in Lenton and here in Beeston proves otherwise.

Many students want to live ordinary houses on ordinary streets and I well understand. As an oldie I want the same, but too many students, just like too many oldies, create problems which impact on local shops, services, facilities and other things as well. I could ask for information about how many council tax payers get a 25% reduction because they live alone. The problem is complex and needs addressing.

Broxtowe Borough Council's Housing Strategy 2015–2020 document (click link to read/download) does not mention students or balanced communities. The following table from the document is vague at best:

'Household structure' makes no mention of shared housing or non-couples other than 'One Person' or 'Lone Parent'. Two years ago there were 615 council tax exempt properties, which will be almost exclusively shared tenancies with three or more adults, yet the Strategy document makes no mention of this group. It is also worth noting that no data is shown for the year 2015, which is mentioned in the title of the report.

Nor does the strategy document look at housing in different parts of what is a diverse local authority area. There is no mention of housing in Beeston. The very least there should have been was a breakdown by wards/locality clusters. How this got pass the councillors is beyond me!

The list of housing 'partners' who work with Broxtowe Borough Council does not include Unipol or Nottingham University, but the Council does publish a leaflet aimed at students living in Beeston which makes no mention of what housing advice and support is available to them in Beeston.

The driving issue is housing when it comes to students in Beeston, but Broxtowe Borough Council shows little interest in taking a pro-active take in how it impacts on local shops, the wider community and local services. The Broxtowe Labour Party has, I understand, made a donation to a Nottingham Students Housing Co-op for which I can find no information on the web, apart from a Facebook page.

I hope Broxtowe Borough Council have invited them to become a housing partner.

Clearly this is the way forward for all rented housing and I wish the students involved every success. It would surely help them to know the streets where students are likely to live so that they can focus their efforts and what resources they have.