A WOULD-be MP has called for a new restriction on the spread of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

Rebecca Coulson, the Conservative Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for the City of Durham at May’s General Election, wants Durham County Council to introduce an Article 4 direction, which would force developers to apply for planning permission to convert a house into an HMO.

Anger is growing in the city over the number of family homes being turned into HMOs, mostly for university students.

Mrs Coulson is urging people to sign an online petition backing her demand.

She said: “Durham’s planning crisis is preventable – we must prevent it from escalating even further.

“There are measures to prevent inappropriate development here.

“But Durham County Council has, for reasons escaping city residents, declined to adopt these measures.

“The council could quite easily prevent the conversion of family homes into HMOs, and the resultant loss of communities, by adopting and applying an Article 4 direction.

“Other cities in Durham’s position already have this regulation in place.”

Roberta Blackman-Woods, the city’s Labour MP, has long campaigned for the adoption of Article 4 powers and pushed the county council to include the measure in the County Durham Plan.

In November, the council said it would “consider evidence” for an Article 4 direction.

Mrs Coulson’s petition can be found online at change.org