Agenda item

To consider the progress made in respect of the outcomes identified in the Housing Strategy Action Plan 

50.1          The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 100-125, provided a summary of the key activities for the first six months of year two of the Housing Strategy Action Plan.  Members were asked to consider the progress made to date in respect of the outcomes identified in the Action Plan.

50.2           Members were reminded that the strategy contained four key priorities to meet the housing needs of the borough: increasing the supply of housing; prevent homelessness; meet the housing needs of specific groups; and improving the health and wellbeing of local people.  The report summarised progress on each of these areas and highlighted significant actions.  In terms of increasing the supply of housing, the Strategic Housing and Enabling Officer explained that both Rooftop and Severn Vale Housing Society were considering modern methods of construction as their preferred option on the former garage sites at Winchcombe and Staverton.  Members had been impressed with their visit to the modular housing site in Nuneaton and the Parish Councils had also been supportive so this could be the start of an exciting project for Tewkesbury Borough with one of the sites planned for delivery in 2019.  In respect of empty homes, the Council Tax empty homes premium had been introduced from 1 April 2018 in respect of 88 properties within the borough that had been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years.  The affected taxpayers had been contacted and encouraged to seek advice from Environmental Health on bringing their properties back into use; unfortunately, only six responses had been received to date.  Review of empty homes would continue under the forthcoming Empty Homes Strategy and part of that would involve further attempts to engage with empty home owners.  The Homelessness Reduction Act had created a significant amount of work for homelessness services across the county.  Central government was looking to introduce indicators on every client who approached as homeless and was collecting data for each person – this was currently anonymised before it was sent out, but the government may be able to collect it without being anonymised provided it complied with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Someone approaching the Council as homeless may have to wait for up to 112 days for a decision which gave the Housing team longer to try to resolve the issue.  The government was aiming to half the number of rough sleepers by 2021 and eradicate it completely by 2025.  The Housing Services Manager confirmed that the Council had accepted a statutory duty to 75 residents in the first quarter of 2018 and a full homeless statutory duty to two households.  There had not been a large rise in homelessness because of welfare reform itself, although it was difficult to find resolutions for some people who were affected by associated issues, for example, households in temporary accommodation may struggle to find work in an area they would not stay permanently.  With regard to priority three, around meeting the needs of those who need it most, Members were advised that the county was now in a position to progress the Strategic Housing Market Assessment and the county group would be commissioning a consultant to start work on a Local Housing Needs Assessment (LHNA); this was a big piece of work which was likely to take some time.

50.3           A Member noted that the Homeless Reduction Act gave local authorities more powers to make housing associations and registered providers offer certain properties to tenants and he questioned if this was being pushed forward.  In response, the Housing Services Manager advised that Tewkesbury Borough Council was in partnership with the rest of the county and West Oxfordshire District Council and indicated they had no influence on who registered providers would accept; however, housing associations such as Bromford, Severn Vale, Gloucester City/Cheltenham Borough Homes tended to be more socially aware.  It was only really necessary to make tenants more palatable for temporary accommodation, for example, by guaranteeing them against damage and rent arrears to a certain level, and this was done on a case by case basis.  She stressed that homeless households were not homeless intentionally, rather they had become homeless due to other issues, such as alcohol or drug abuse, and therefore were considered high risk to private sector landlords and social housing providers.  The Member also indicated that land owned by the authority may have a higher social, as opposed to monetary, value if used for social housing so it should not necessarily be sold to the highest bidder. The Deputy Chief Executive advised that the Housing Officers had given an overview of what was becoming an increasingly complex picture nationally.  A lot of good work was being done with housing associations to try to counteract homelessness and improve prevention.  Tewkesbury Borough Council did not own a lot of land as an authority and when a site came forward it would be a question of interpreting how it would be used and whether a capital receipt would be the best value for money.  Officers would put the options together and Members would ultimately make the final decision; it would undoubtedly be a difficult decision in light of the Council’s financial situation.  In terms of the former garage sites, it was not only about cost but also the wider social responsibility and how to put a value on that.  A Member indicated that one of the latest options for housing was shipping containers which were converted to living units and he suggested that could be explored.  The Housing Services Officer advised that this had already been looked into but it was quite expensive and required a lot of groundworks e.g. electricity.  The Member felt sure there would be a lot of Town and Parish Councils which owned land around the borough which may be useful so it would be beneficial to ask them for help. 

50.4          It was

RESOLVED          That the progress made to date in respect of the outcomes identified in the Housing Strategy Action Plan be NOTED.