Agenda item

(Director of Housing) To consider the attached report.

The Panel received a report from the Director of Housing regarding the Housing Strategy 2009 – 2012 (12 Month Progress report on Key Action Plan 2011 – 2012, and New Key Action Plan 2012 – 2013).

The Panel noted that around 3-4 years earlier, it had approved for consultation a “Consultation Draft” Housing Strategy and a major Consultation exercise was undertaken with the Council’s partners, key stakeholders and the public over a 3 month period. The exercise included a one day Housing Strategy Conference, to which all the consultees were invited. At its meeting in September 2009, the Council’s Cabinet adopted the Housing Strategy 2009 – 2012.

The Strategy assessed the District’s current and future housing needs, with regard to the Strategic Housing Market Assessment, as well as taking account of national priorities. The strategy also included a Key Action Plan, which set out the proposed actions that would be taken by the Council to contribute towards the achievement of the housing objectives over the 3 years of the Housing Strategy. When adopting the Strategy, the Cabinet agreed that Key Action Plans should be produced and updated on an annual basis for approval by the Cabinet, and progress monitored on a 6 monthly basis by the Panel. Last year, the Cabinet adopted the third Key Action Plan for the Housing Strategy.

Although there was no legal or policy requirement, it was originally anticipated that the Housing Strategy would be updated during 2012, covering the following three years. However, following a recommendation from the Panel, in May 2012, the former Housing Portfolio Holder agreed that the production of the next Housing Strategy should be deferred for one year, and produced in 2013/14. This was because it was identified and acknowledged that there were a number of important issues that would be concluded by the Council over the following year, which would have a significant impact on the Housing Strategy. These issues included:

(a)        A refresh of the Council’s Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA);

(b)        The production of the Council’s Strategic Housing Land Assessment (SHLA), which would evaluate all of the proposed development sites in the District put forward by landowners and developers, through the “Call for Sites” Exercise;

(c)        The production of the Council’s Draft Local Plan, which would set out the Council’s proposed plans on the number and proposed location of new homes in the District; and

(d)        The Council’s decisions on housing issues relating to the Localism Act, including a possible Local Eligibility Criteria for the Council’s Housing Register and the possibility of the introduction of fixed term flexible tenancies by the Council, instead of “lifetime” secure tenancies.

The Panel also recommended that an updated Housing Strategy Key Action Plan for 2012/13 should be considered by the Panel, for recommendation to the Cabinet, and that progress with the updated Action Plan should be monitored on a six monthly basis by the Panel.

The Panel therefore reviewed the 12 Month Progress Report on the Housing Strategy’s Key Action Plan 2011/12, and considered a Draft Housing Strategy Key Action Plan 2012/13 for recommendation to the Cabinet.

RECOMMENDED:

(1)        That the 12 Month Progress Report on the Housing Strategy’s Key Action Plan 2011/12 be noted; and

(2)        That the Housing Strategy Key Action Plan 2012/13 be recommended to the Cabinet for adoption.