PLANS to turn a family house into student accommodation were refused after councillors described them as a drain on communities.

The application to convert a house in St Joseph’s Close, Gilesgate, Durham was unanimously rejected by members of Durham County Council’s central and east planning committee.

Cllr Jan Blakey said: “The students do not bring a lot to our communities, there’s a lot of take but not a lot given back, and I don’t think another HMO is the answer to the problem.

“There’s already enough in Durham City and they’re starting to spread to the villages.

“It’s not that we don’t want them and if they interacted with their communities I think people would look on them better, but they don’t.”

Durham Constabulary had objected to the plans, saying the HMO could have a “very serious impact” on the quiet cul-de-sac.

As well as the effect on amenities such as parking, councillors were also concerned about how the change of use could affect the appearance of the street.

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Robyn Craig of estate agent Nicholas Humphreys Durham said: “At the moment, the property is vacant, because it’s going through a phase where we’re trying to get tenants into the property.

“Once they move in we, as property managers, have a responsibility to keep the property as it is and so do the tenants.

“If they don’t, we have the right to get them out of the property.”

But, following a site visit earlier that morning, Cllr Owen Temple replied that on the basis of the current state of the property it ‘doesn’t suggest we can rely on them [the agents] for the students they will be applying it to’.

Coun David Freeman also criticised Durham University itself, saying it had ‘very limited interest in how students behave when they’re not living on their own accomodation in colleges’.

Following the meeting, Durham University’s vice chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, has said he is considering introducing an American-style ‘honour code’ to try and improve student behaviour.

Planners for the council had recommended the application be approved because it was not in breach of the authority’s interim policy on HMO conversion, as 9.3per cent of properties within 100m of the property are HMOs – below the ten per cent threshold.