UNCERTAINTY surrounds controversial proposals for new shared accommodation in Widnes after planning chiefs delayed a decision pending a site visit.

Dozens of objectors turned up for a meeting of Halton’s Development Management Committee, which had been recommended to approve proposals to transform the former Cartref House Nursing Home on Derby Road into houses in multiple occupation (HMO).

The scheme would feature 29 rooms with shared kitchen, bathrooms and living areas. Six of the rooms would be self-contained apartments.

The plans prompted a fierce backlash from local residents, with two petitions opposing the scheme picking up a combined 549 signatures, with 252 individual objections also being received. Four letters of support were submitted.

The meeting had been moved to the DCBL Stadium in Widnes from Runcorn Town Hall to accommodate the number of objectors and was at times lively, with the Chairman having to call for quiet at one point so an officer could speak.

During the meeting, Katie Dickson, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the HMO would bring a large disused building back into use.

She said: “People on a lower income, single people, single households, people who may not be as fortunate as other people in the room are entitled to live in households, they can’t always be deemed unacceptable or undesirable just because they earn a low income, that’s just a  personal opinion.”

Objector Peter Ireland said local residents’ concerns included car parking, highway safety and disruption to the character of Farnworth Village.

He said: “This will be the largest HMO in Halton. This type of development is recommended for large town centres and will set a precedent for other oversized HMOs throughout the borough.

“I ask everyone on the committee to consider if they genuinely think this HMO is fit for purpose in the  historic Farnworth Village.”

Farnworth councillor Angela McInerney, said: “We are not talking about 29 people living in the building but 29 rooms, and these are mainly double rooms.

"Each could have up to two people living there.

"Imagine the lockdown we’ve just had in which 58 people live in one building  sharing three living rooms and three kitchens?”

Board member Cllr Dave Thompson said the growth of HMOs nationally was ‘very worrying’.

He said: “In the times when the Victorians were about we didn’t have HMOs, they simply referred to them as slums.”

Several members of the committee raised concerns about the plans, but were told by officers – who had recommended it for approval – that if they refused, their decision risked being overturned by a Government planning inspector, and that the council could also incur costs.

The committee voted to defer a decision pending a site visit, which met with applause from objectors.