Conservatives in West Lancashire are planning to use newly devolved powers to control the amount of student homes in Ormskirk, Westhead and Aughton.
They intend to use an 'Article 4 Direction' from Town and County Planning legislation, which has been recently revised by the Coalition Government to allow councils to choose which parts of their areas, if any, should have restrictions on the amount of Homes in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
It is intended the new restrictions will be in place by next year and cover Derby Ward, Scott Ward and Knowsley Ward in Ormskirk. But to ensure the issue with student housing isn't just pushed to neighbouring residential areas, the order is also set to cover Aughton Park and Aughton & Downholland.
Deputy Conservative Group Leader and Derby Ward Cllr Adrian Owens said: "There are growing numbers of students currently at Edge Hill and many of them are living in multiple occupancy homes in the centre of Ormskirk.
"Whilst we recognise the valuable contribution Edge Hill makes to the local economy, we are also aware of the amount of disquiet among long-standing residents about the amount of previously single family homes which have been turned into student accomodation.
"This not only puts pressure on Ormskirk's housing market, but has also brought with it issues such as anti social behaviour, pressure on parking spaces and started to change the social fabric of our town.
"As local Conservatives, we are grasping the nettle on this issue and taking measures which will enable us to control the amount of student homes in the area."
Cllr Owens points out that these proposals also pour cold water on yet another one of Labour's General Election scare stories. "They tried to claim local Conservatives were against restrictions on HMOs, but the action we are taking shows that as being complete fantasy, like so many of their claims," said Cllr Owens. "They tried to scare people into voting for them, and should be ashamed of themselves."
Conservative planning spokesman Cllr Martin Forshaw welcomed the new powers: "The previous Labour government forced local councils to use these orders across their areas whether they needed them or not.
"It was typical of Labour's fixation with central control from Whitehall but in truth it was using a sledgehammer to crack a nut because there are parts of West Lancashire where, quite frankly, HMOs are not an issue.
"I am glad the Coaltion scrapped Labour's top-down 'we know best' approach and given local communities the freedom to choose."