A CONCERNED resident of France was among the members of the public who wrote to comment on an Oxford planning application.

An application to change the use of an Oxford home into a shared house for commuters or students was unanimously approved by the city council's west area planning committee on Tuesday.

According to a report, 25 local residents were said to have written to object to turn 18 Addison Crescent into a house of multiple occupation, also known as an HMO.

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Among the objectors were residents of Addison Crescent, who expressed their concerns about what the effects of packing four people into the former family home would be.

Their worries included local parking provision and noise from the new HMO.

But alongside the six comments from people living at five of Addison Crescent's homes (two were submitted by residents of one home), were some from further afield.

This included comments from other Oxford addresses, as well as from Banbury, London, and Cowden, a village in the High Weald AONB of Kent.

But the most far-flung public comment came from the Rue Albert Fabre, Roujan, in the Occitanie region of southern France.

According to Google, Roujan is roughly an 812-mile car journey from Cornmarket Street in the city centre of Oxford.

This trip would take 13 hours and 48 minutes if a non-stop car journey was made.

The resident, Sandra McCormick, said she was a regular visitor to a home on Addison Crescent, and raised concerns about traffic and noise.

Ms McCormick's letter said: "There are already many houses in Addison Crescent divided into flats let to students. To add a large HMO is a step too far.

"People in short-term rentals in HMOs inevitably have little or no concern for long-term residents and feel little responsibility to their neighbours. Surely it is important to maintain a strong sense of community to promote care for the elderly and families, fight crime, and create pleasant living conditions for council tax payers?

"Too many parts of Oxford have become "dormitories" for a transient population with no long-term emotional or financial investment in the city's future well-being."

Any member of the public is welcome to make a comment on a planning application, either to support it or object to it.

READ AGAIN about the comments from residents on the HMO plan

At Tuesday's meeting Labour councillor Alex Hollingsworth asked whether the report presented to the committee about 18 Addison Crescent could be amended to reflect that not all comments were from local residents.

Councillors heard the 20 per cent limit of HMOs in the area would not be breached if the house was converted into one.

Eighteen Addison Crescent is currently a four bedroom house.

Because of this, very little construction work will need to take place to change the building into an HMO.

Two new car parking spaces will be created on the front yard of the house, and new bin and cycle storage will be built next to it.