The Committee noted the response from Royal Holloway University to the questions provided since the previous Committee meeting.  There was concern that student numbers and accommodation being in such a state of flux would lead to uncertainty and misplaced rumours.

It was agreed that any new strategy would have far-reaching consequences for the community and would be encouraging the university to engage at an early stage with the Council.  Committee members would notify officers of further questions to be asked and it was agreed to provide a further invitation to representatives of Royal Holloway University to attend the next meeting of the Committee.

The existence of the Runnymede Group Forum was also discussed, which consisted of a wide range of bodies, however members felt it primarily consisted of a status update with minimal debate or discussion about issues.  A request had been made to form a working group to enable more detailed discussion on issues.

The long-term prospect of an Article 4 Direction was discussed, and whilst planning officers had noted suggestions from the previous Committee meeting to inform the local plan review, there was no guarantee that it would form part of the council’s planning policy and therefore might not be a long-term solution.

The Committee were advised of the requirement to provide an end product from the programme of work for the consideration of another body of the Council.  Whilst recommendations would be finalised at the final committee meeting of the municipal year, a member expressed a desire to consider options around HMO licensing similar to other local authorities, in particular recommending the consideration of licensing all HMOs rather than those with 5+ occupants, as well as additional conditions to licenses around noise nuisance antisocial behaviour, garden maintenance, and refuse and rubbish.

Officers advised Committee that any such action would have resource implications, and the likely need to employ more private sector housing officers would have a knock-on effect elsewhere in the Council and would mean having to sacrifice another activity to ensure a balanced budget.

Officers were also keen to establish what the Committee wanted to achieve in order to consider whether there were different and more cost-effective ways of achieving it, with the upcoming bin allocation policy potentially dealing with waste issues cited as an example.  Committee members were strongly encouraged to follow up with the Corporate Head of Environmental Services for her advice and for them to understand their options to empower them to make recommendations at the next Committee meeting.

Whilst it was acknowledged that increasing fees to cover the cost of administering an enhanced scheme would be costly for landlords and tenants, a member advised that in a dip sample of some 20 local authorities around the country Runnymede was currently charging the lowest amount.

The Committee would consider next steps ahead of the next Committee meeting, but the initial thoughts on some of the likely recommendations flowing out of this workstream were as follows:

·       Planning Committee to continue to consider the introduction of Article 4 direction.

·       Environment & Sustainability Committee to consider the extension of licensing HMOs beyond those already licensed.

·       Environment & Sustainability Committee to consider implementing additional conditions on HMO licenses similar to that of other local authorities.

·       Environment & Sustainability/Community Services Committee to be asked to consider encouraging the Runnymede Group Forum to alter the way it operates to facilitate greater debate.

Subject to the agreement of final recommendations, the relevant Committee(s) would be asked to consider those recommendations in the new municipal year.