'We are being ghettoised in this area': Hundreds protest over plans for pub

Hundreds of angry residents have turned out to protest against the conversion of a pub near Wigan town centre into a house of multiple occupation (HMO). They gathered outside the Crispin Arms on Birkett Bank in the Scholes area of the town to object to the plans to transform it into a 15-bedroom residence.

Two Independent councillors, Maureen O’Bern and Tony Whyte, were also there as nearly 300 people from neighbouring streets met to register their fury at the ‘proliferation’ of HMOs in the town. Passing motorists blew their horns in approval as the throng of protesters grew in number.

Coun O’Bern, who is also standing as an Independent candidate for Wigan in the General Election on Thursday (July 4), claims up to 70 per cent of the HMOs in the town are owned by out-of-town investors. Applicant Remko Holdings Ltd has submitted an application to redevelop the pub, which became vacant last year, for the change of use which they say ‘will help address housing demand in Wigan and reduce pressure to develop green field and green belt sites’.

READ MORE: Woman stabbed to death as she sat on the toilet after boyfriend 'lay in wait' at her flat for three hours, trial hears

However, ex-military serviceman Steven Anderson, 66, said he was facing eviction after being served with a Section 21 notice, and claimed he would soon be homeless. “These HMO properties are not being made available to people on the housing waiting list,” he said. “Soon I will be homeless and properties like this will be for people other than me.

“The owner of the property I live in is evicting me after nine years after putting the rent up because of the increase in their mortgage interest rate.”

Coun Whyte added: “If these kind of properties are being