Chichester District Council
Agenda item

Agenda item

Housing Strategy 2020-25

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix and make the following resolutions and recommendation to Council as set out below:

 

1.    That the Cabinet approves the Housing Strategy 2020-25 and recommends its adoption by the Council.

2.    That the Director of Housing and Communities is granted delegated authority to make modifications to the Strategy in order to align with the emerging Local Plan Review.

Decision:

*RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

 

1.    That the Housing Strategy 2020-25 be adopted.

2.    That the Director of Housing and Communities is granted delegated authority to make modifications to the Strategy in order to align with the emerging Local Plan Review.

Minutes:

Mrs Graves introduced the report. She explained that the purpose of the Housing Strategy is to set out a long term vision of the council’s aspirations for meeting housing need over the next five years. The strategy replaces a number of separate documents which have been produced in the past, the intention being to provide a single comprehensive housing strategy covering:

 

·         Homelessness

·         Private sector renewal

·         The delivery of new affordable housing

 

Mrs Graves then clarified the aim to provide a concise statement of the council’s priorities, indicating the reasons why these priorities had been chosen and setting them in the context of the resources opportunities and constraints. She explained that the Strategy aims to strike a balance between producing something which is detailed enough to be meaningful but concise enough to be readable and accessible. The strategy is the product of work with a variety of stakeholders and partners and has been the subject of consultation with members including the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. It represents an ambitious but achievable plan to respond to the pressing housing issues so many residents face.

 

Mr Western then provided details of the key elements of the Strategy as follows:

 

The strategy is in four parts:

 

The first section provides an introduction to the purpose and role of the strategy and the national and local policy context. The second section provides an overview of the local housing market identifying the key pressures primarily associated with the high cost of housing in relation to local earnings. Much of this data reflects research which is been carried out to support the Local Plan Review. The third section examines the background to the three Corporate Plan Objectives for housing.  These are:

 

-          To Provide Support for those that Need It (e.g. reducing homelessness and rough sleeping)

-          Ensure Housing is Used Effectively and is Fit for Purpose (e.g. Private sector renewal and the allocation of social housing)

-          Increase the Supply of Suitable Housing in the Right Location (increasing the provision of new affordable housing)

 

The narrative within this section explains why the priorities have been set and provides a little more background to the specific opportunities and constraints in relation to each. The fourth section provides a matrix in which eight strategic housing objectives are set out which support the Corporate Plan objectives previously described. Within the matrix the left hand column sets out broad objectives which can be used to measure progress over the next five years.

 

Mr Western added that for each of the eight objectives the current position and the overall objective are outlined. The left hand column represents strategic actions, long term actions against which we can measure success over the period. The right hand column provides an Action Plan defining specific actions which contribute to each of the objectives. The actions are likely to change over the life of the strategy and will form the basis of annual service plans which measure progress.

 

Decision

 

The Cabinet then voted to make the recommendations below:

 

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

 

1.    That the Housing Strategy 2020-25 be adopted.

2.    That the Director of Housing and Communities is granted delegated authority to make modifications to the Strategy in order to align with the emerging Local Plan Review.

 

Supporting documents:

 

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