Join Councillor Lizzy Dobres and Dr Rosena in calling on Wandsworth Council and the Met Police to take action on the impacts of the large HMO at 5 Dalebury
We, the undersigned residents and supporters, call on Wandsworth Council to urgently review the planning, licensing and operational arrangements relating to 5 Dalebury Road.
Since 5 Dalebury Road has become a large HMO with 15 flats, residents have reported unprecedented levels of anti-social behaviour, repeated emergency service attendance, excessive noise, fly-tipping, harassment of those walking by, and significant disruption to directly and indirectly neighbouring households.
Families report being woken from and being unable to sleep, children inhaling cannabis through second-hand smoke invading the spaces both outside and inside their homes and being forced to witness aggressive behaviour and hear extreme profanities, and a severe deterioration in their quality of life. More vulnerable residents are genuinely fearful of walking past the property. Residents have deep concerns about the immediate and long-term impact of this large HMO on them, their families and their environment, and the safeguarding and public safety issues that it raises.
The development was originally presented to the Planning Committee in 2025 as a simple request for permission to extend to improve the existing four self-contained flats. The original application stated: "The purpose of the extensions is to improve the quality of the flats and not increase the number of people within the dwellings.” Residents accordingly assumed that the scale of occupation would remain limited and that no further intensification was anticipated.
However, the property has subsequently been converted on an entirely different premise and at a significantly greater density than that originally presented, resulting in a level of activity and impact that residents believe was neither anticipated nor scrutinised through the planning process.
We understand that residents are placed in the property by local councils, including Wandsworth. We therefore call on Wandsworth Council to:
Suspend or review any licensing decisions pending investigation of the impacts on residents and local services, at the very least, to extend the consultation period beyond June 2026 to allow time for more rigorous consideration
Take all available steps to reduce occupancy and revert the property to the scale originally presented to and approved by the Planning Committee, where lawful powers exist to do so
Explore all measures to stop rogue actors operating in Trinity in the future, including the implementation of an Article 4 Direction in Trinity Ward to allow the Council and local communities rightful oversight and control over the development of large HMOs and prevent further HMOs from being developed that negatively impact the local community
Report publicly to residents on the licensing review and the actions the Council intends to take
We believe the current situation is causing unacceptable harm to the local community and an untenable imposition on local services and requires immediate intervention.