The Bassetlaw HMO Directions for Worksop Central and Retford Station were formally made on 29th May 2026, bringing two defined areas a step closer to requiring planning applications for new small shared houses.
They are non-immediate Article 4 Directions and are not yet in force. Bassetlaw District Council must confirm each Direction before it can remove the permitted development right for changing a Class C3 dwellinghouse into a Class C4 house in multiple occupation (HMO).
That distinction matters. I would not treat a property in the new Retford Station area as already caught by an Article 4 control, while the existing 2020 Direction in Worksop Central remains operative until and unless it is replaced.
What the Bassetlaw HMO Directions cover
The Council made one Direction for a revised Worksop Central area and another for the Retford Station area. Both target the permitted development right in Class L(b) of Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order.
Class L(b) normally allows a building in Class C3, broadly a dwellinghouse occupied by a single household, to change to Class C4 without a planning application. Class C4 covers a small HMO occupied by three to six people who form more than one household and share basic facilities.
If the Bassetlaw HMO Directions are confirmed, that automatic planning permission will be withdrawn inside the mapped areas. A proposed material change from C3 to C4 would then need an express planning permission from Bassetlaw District Council.
This would not amount to a ban on HMOs. It would put each new proposal through the normal planning application process, allowing the Council to consider matters such as concentration, residential amenity, the local housing mix and the character of the area.
Worksop and Retford are at different starting points
Worksop Central already has an operative HMO Article 4 Direction, confirmed in June 2020. The Council says that control will remain in force unless the new Worksop Direction is confirmed and the 2020 Direction is then cancelled.
The new Worksop boundary is not simply a repeat of the old map. Following a correction, the Council excluded the eastern side of Sherwood Road and included Trent Street, Sime Street, Cresswell Road, Sandy Lane, Sandhill Street, Boundary Row, Vicar’s Walk, Humber Street, Slack Walk, Garbsen Court, Lead Hill, St Cuthbert Street and Memorial Avenue.
Retford Station is different because the new Direction would introduce a C3 to C4 control there for the first time. The corrected Retford map added 1 to 9 Willowbridge Close and 17 Albert Road to the proposed area.
Anyone checking an individual address should use the corrected maps rather than relying on the name of the neighbourhood. Article 4 boundaries can follow individual streets and property lines, so being close to Worksop Central or Retford Station does not by itself answer whether a property falls inside the land edged red.
The legal stage and the missing commencement date
The Bassetlaw HMO Directions were approved by the Council’s Planning Committee on 20th May 2026 and formally made on 29th May 2026. Revised consultation notices state that representations ran from 24th June to 5th August 2026 after errors in the original maps were corrected.
The Directions expressly say that they will not come into force unless confirmed by the local planning authority. The corrected notices add that any confirmation must occur by 28th May 2028, but they do not publish a fixed operative date.
That means there is no defensible date to put in a diary yet. The next material event will be a formal confirmation decision and notice, which should state when the control starts. Until confirmation, the Bassetlaw HMO Directions do not alter the planning position in the proposed Retford Station area.
The Council’s own web page is slightly confusing because one section tells owners they will require planning permission, while its formal documents and frequently asked questions correctly explain that the new controls depend on confirmation. That is why the Bassetlaw HMO Directions should be read alongside the controlling legal documents. The signed legal stage and notice are the safer guide.
How applications would be assessed
Bassetlaw says it intends to use a two-step approach if the new controls take effect. Its published guidance proposes a 5% HMO concentration threshold within 100 metres and a clustering test designed to prevent three adjacent HMOs or a dwellinghouse being flanked by HMOs on both sides.
Those tests do not decide whether planning permission is currently required. They are relevant to how the Council expects to assess an application once an application is needed. Licensing is separate again: an HMO licence does not grant planning permission, and planning permission does not replace any licensing requirement.
The Council also recognises the housing role of shared accommodation. In its consultation announcement, Councillor Steve Scotthorne said: “HMOs can provide a more affordable form of housing for residents, but an over concentration can have a negative impact on community’s quality of life.” He said the Directions would support better distribution.
What owners and buyers should check now
For a Worksop property, I would first check whether it falls inside the operative 2020 boundary. If it does, a material C3 to C4 change may already require planning permission, regardless of the newer proposal.
For a property in or near the proposed Worksop or Retford areas, keep the dated evidence showing its lawful use. Existing lawful HMOs are not made unlawful by a later Article 4 Direction, but the timing and quality of the evidence can become important if the planning status is later questioned.
The practical position is therefore deliberately cautious: the Bassetlaw HMO Directions have been made, but they have not yet been confirmed or commenced. Check the exact map, the current use and the latest confirmation notice before assuming either that permission is required or that permitted development remains available.
Planning Geek has added both proposed areas to its HMO Article 4 map and directory. The locally hosted combined Worksop and Retford Directions and maps and the corrected notices provide the primary documents behind this update.
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