DOZENS of people protested over the ‘proliferation’ of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) and random evictions – known as Section 21s - across the borough at a council meeting.

Although there was a counter-protest organised by Wigan Trades Union Council, outside the Town Hall on Wednesday night, fears of public disorder did not materialise and police kept a low-key presence.

The campaign against HMOs is being led by Ince’s Independent councillor Maureen O’Bern who at the full council meeting posed the question: “What action is the council going to take around Section 21 evictions and the increase in out-of-town developers buying properties in Wigan, and converting them to HMOs to the detriment of local people?”

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Members of Wigan Trades Union Council turned up to counter protestMembers of Wigan Trades Union Council turned up to counter protest (Image: Local Democracy Reporter)
There was no verbal response from the portfolio holder for housing and welfare Cllr Susan Gambles, but she promised to write to Cllr O’Bern with a response.

Recently, Cllr O’Bern was at the forefront of a protest where 300 people turned up outside the former Crispin Arms pub on Birkett Bank in the Scholes area of the town to object to plans to transform it into a 15-bedroom residence.

She has claimed that the borough has reached ‘saturation point’ with HMOs and argues that they are a source of crime and anti-social behaviour, whilst also denying that there is a racist motivation for the objections.

However, secretary of Wigan Trades Union Council David Lowe, who attended the counter-demonstration, said: “We as trade unionists and councillors need to call these people (the protesters) out for what they are – political opportunists who prey on the insecurity and fears of a large number of people in our town to pursue their own interests.”