Police worry HMO could spark more misinformation

Police have raised concerns that "yet another HMO" in a town could spark further misinformation following last summer's riots.

Proposals were submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council planning department to allow the use of a property in Tankerville Street to change from two self-contained flats into a six-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO).

The application from BNL Property Ltd is for retrospective permission and states the conversion was completed earlier this year.

Cleveland Police said it did not support the application and had "real concerns about the number of HMOs in the area", which had been targeted during disorder in 2024 due to the spread of disinformation.

A planning statement in support of the application said the HMO was "centred on providing high-quality accommodation for professionals and students".

It added the applicant "regrets the retrospective nature" of the proposal and did not initially know that formal planning permission was required.

Hartlepool saw a night of unrest on 31 July 2024, in a wave of disorder that spread across the country following the murders of three girls in Southport and anti-immigration-fuelled social media misinformation.

A Cleveland Police response to the proposals said: "During the disorder in the summer of 2024 this area was targeted as a result of confounded public perceptions and the spreading of misinformation across shared social media platforms.

"As part of recovery, following the disorder, the police, public authorities and other partnership agencies have been collaborating on rejuvenation projects in this area.

"However, this proposal, of yet another HMO in the area (albeit stipulated for students) would not only frustrate this work, it could potentially create further misinformation and make this premises a target and the residents at greater risk of being victims of crime."

The planning statement in support of the development added the property was professionally managed by a local HMO developer with a "proven record" of compliance.

A decision is expected to be made on the proposals by the council planning department later this month.

Update 12 December 2025: This article has been updated to remove the name of the applicant and house number of the property which is the subject of the application, because they are not essential details in a story about police criticism of the number of HMOs in general.

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