I note that Swindon Borough Council intends to establish a working group to develop a strategy for the management of Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) in the borough.

I believe this to be an intelligent move on SBC's part, driven by increasing community concerns at the growth of HMOs in the borough and lack of controls enabling the council to manage their growth.

No one knows the exact number of HMOs in Swindon although the 2003 Private Sector House Condition Survey estimated there to be 1,254.

It seems likely that this number will greatly increase if the University of Bath develops a campus in Swindon. A large concentration of HMOs can have an accumulative adverse impact on the local area giving rise to a number of problems, including, parking difficulties, increased fire risk, poor maintenance, poor rubbish management, excessive household noise, anti-social behaviour and reduced privacy.

These issues can cause discord among the sharing household, and can also spill out to impact on neighbours and the surrounding area.

HMO tenants may also have limited or no attachment to the local community, and following the expansion of the EU large numbers of migrants appear to be seeking employment in the south, and Swindon in particular.

Concern is not only for residents in the areas where HMOs tend to spring up, but also for the people in the HMOs whose conditions are often poor and tend to increase the feeling of exclusion from our communities.

Many of the above topics are already being discussed by concerned Swindon residents on the Talkswindon forum joined by regularly contributing past, present and possibly future local councillors. Anne Snelgrove joined the swelling numbers of forum members recently, and although she is often busy in Westminster, her assistant Jude Robinson is a very welcome regular, so I assume Anne is kept up to date on residents' views, something I know she prides herself on.

The Talkswindon.org forum provides a discussion venue for everyone in Swindon, indeed, Swindon Borough Council is still using the forum as part of its residents' parking scheme review and there is very regular dialogue between Coun Dale Heenan and residents on the forum. Thank you Dale!

I'd like to thank everyone at the forum for welcoming both me, and my views, and I would like to encourage other Swindon residents to visit the forum and add theirs!

A Flockhart.

Swindon