Who, What, Why and How?

The Nottingham Action Group

We are residents living in neighbourhoods from across a large part of Nottingham (Sherwood, The Arboretum, Hyson Green, Radford, The Park, Lenton, Dunkirk, The Meadows, Wollaton Park, Wollaton, Lenton Abbey, Beeston).

Although our neighbourhoods are as different from one another as we are, what they have in common are the problems caused by increasing concentrations of so-called Houses in Multiple Occupancy' (HMOs), shared houses with absentee landlords and short-term (mostly student) tenants.

What we shared was the feeling that as individual Council Tax paying, family residents we had no say in what the 'movers and shakers' – primarily the Universities and the Council – were planning and doing, even though their decisions directly affected us and the future of the neighbourhoods in which we live. Alone we had no voice. However, we believed that, as a group, we could have a voice. Whilst we could not change what had happened, we could influence what was going to happen.

A year ago we got together and formed the Nottingham Action Group on HMOs – the NAG – not a nice name, but appropriate. What is happening to our neighbourhoods is not nice for those who live in them and we are ready to nag and keep on nagging to get things done.

Our aim is simple – to have Neighbourhoods where families want to live … not leave!.