Issue - meetings

To recommend to Full Council a new Housing Strategy 2020-2025 for adoption.

RESOLVED that –

(a)    Cabinet recommends to Full Council that the new Housing Strategy 2020-2025 and its accompanying Delivery Plan be formally adopted; and

(b)    the Housing Portfolio Holder be authorised to monitor performance against the Delivery Plan with periodic updates being presented to Cabinet following the Strategy’s adoption by Full Council.

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Housing Portfolio Holder (A.3) which sought its endorsement of a new Housing Strategy for the period 2020-2025.

The Cabinet was aware that local authorities were not required by Government to have a formal housing strategy, but that they were expected to adopt a strategic approach to housing in their local areas in order to deliver a thriving housing market and address local needs.  To that end a draft Housing Strategy had been agreed by Cabinet at its meeting held in July 2019 in order to enable consultation to be undertaken seeking the views of the public and the Council’s partners.

Members recalled that the strategy identified four key strategic housing priorities as follows:

• Delivering homes to meet the needs of local people
• Reducing and preventing homelessness and rough sleeping
• Making the best use of and improving existing housing
• Supporting people in their homes and communities.

It was reported that it was the first of those strategic housing priorities that had given the Strategy its title as by the end of the life of the strategy, it was expected that there would be new council housing being delivered in the District for the first time in a generation.

Having considered the contents of the proposed Strategy and in order to enable the Strategy to be submitted to full Council for its formal adoption:-

It was moved by Councillor P B Honeywood, seconded by Councillor McWilliams and:-

RESOLVED that –

(a)    Cabinet recommends to Full Council that the new Housing Strategy 2020-2025 and its accompanying Delivery Plan be formally adopted; and

(b)    the Housing Portfolio Holder be authorised to monitor performance against the Delivery Plan with periodic updates being presented to Cabinet following the Strategy’s adoption by Full Council.