Issue - items at meetings - Housing Strategy Options and Initiatives

Issue - meetings

Housing Strategy Options and Initiatives

 

 

Meeting: 07/11/2012 - Cabinet (Item 78)

78 Housing Strategy Options and Initiatives pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Minutes:

(Prior to discussion of this item Councillor M. J. A. Webb requested that it be noted that whilst the report referred to housing issues generally it did not deal specifically with Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT). In relation to his involvement with BDHT he stated that he had been nominated as a Council representative to the Board of BDHT but that he was not yet a Member of the Board.)

 

The Cabinet considered a report on the key strategic, legal and policy issues driving the Government’s plans in respect of the national and local housing market.

 

The report also highlighted some key strategic actions which the Council could take in the light of the changes implemented or forthcoming, to ensure the Authority is in a position to meet and manage the future housing needs of residents. Of particular importance was the need to support the availability of affordable housing and flexible tenure within the District.  

 

Members welcomed the report and felt it gave options to maximise opportunities locally and to achieve balanced communities. There was a need to take a flexible and site by site approach in relation to affordable housing on new sites and in terms of splits by tenure type. Reference was also made to the possible need in future to reconsider the densities of sites.

 

RESOLVED:   

(a)       that the District Level Housing Strategy Action Plan be refreshed to ensure that the latest changes and developments in national housing policy and practice are fully incorporated at a local level;

(b)       that the Private Sector Housing Strategy be refreshed to ensure it drives the supply of good quality private sector options for local communities;

(c)        that the Home Choice Plus Choice-Based Letting Scheme Allocations Policy be reviewed in conjunction with other key partners across the County with a view to establishing balanced communities and a housing pathway for local people. This would be in line with the framework for a Gold Standard housing advice service set out in the Department of Communities and Local Government report “Making Every Contact Count – a joint approach to preventing homelessness”;

(d)       that this Authority adopts the power available under sections 148 and 149 of the Localism Act 2011 to discharge homelessness duties into the private rented sector as part of its broader approach to housing allocations;

(e)       that the new Tenancy Strategy be utilised to support Registered Housing Providers in implementation of flexible tenure across the Bromsgrove District;

(f)         that this Authority continues to aim to secure up to 40% affordable housing on new developments in the Bromsgrove District and to this end adopts a site by site approach to splits by tenure type, with a strong focus on providing opportunities for local people to access a wide variety of home ownership options and assisting as many households as possible to get onto the housing ladder.