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Charnwood Housing Strategy 2005 -2010: ‘Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’
1 Version 6 (14.07.05)
0 Contents Page Page Foreword 3
Summary and Priorities 4 Why have a housing strategy 4 Developing a strategy for housing 4 Summary of strategic objectives 6
Chapter 1 Context and Delivery 8 How this strategy links to the national context 8 How this strategy links to the regional context 10 How this strategy links to the local context 12 Strategy Bookcase 15 Turning strategy into reality 16 Performance management framework 16 Monitoring and report framework 17
Chapter 2 How the Housing Market Changes 21 Context 21 Our dynamic housing market 21 Factors influencing demand 22 Factors influencing supply 23 Housing costs and income 24 Population growth & household formation projections 25 Housing needs assessment model 26 Key issues for our housing strategy in Charnwood 27 Developing our understanding of the housing market 28
Chapter 3 Managing the Housing Market 29 Objective 1 – Enabling Regeneration & Affordable Homes 29
Aim 1: Creating Sustainable Communities 29 Aim 2: Balanced Housing Markets 31 Aim 3: Delivering Affordable Housing 33
Objective 2 – Promoting Decent Homes in All Tenures 37
Aim 4: Providing Decent Homes (Social Sector) 37 Aim 4: Providing Decent Homes (Private Sector) 40 Aim 5: Promoting Affordable Warmth 43
1 Chapter 4 Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable People 45 Objective 3 – Supporting a Healthy Thriving Community 45 Aim 6: Promoting Healthy Housing 45 Aim 7: Protecting the Community 47 Aim 8: Tackling Homelessness 50 Aim 9: Supporting Vulnerable People 51
Chapter 5 Options and Resources for Delivery 56 Consideration of Options 56 How we have planned our resources 57 Assessment of bids for spend 58 Summary of resources 58 Grants 60 Future projections 60 Links to the Capital Plan 60
Conclusion 61
Appendix 1 Action Plan (i) Appendix 2 Key Performance Indicators and Performance Management Framework (xiv) Appendix 3 Options Appraisal (xix) Appendix 4 Good Practice Case Studies (xxix) Appendix 5 Consultation Framework (xxxiv) Appendix 6 Explanation of Deprivation Domains/Regional Housing Polices (xxxix) Appendix 7 Glossary (x1ii) Appendix 8 Key Documents (1i) Appendix 9 Contact List (1vi)
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2 Foreword
We are pleased to introduce ‘Charnwood Housing Strategy: Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’, which sets out the vision, priorities, plans and actions for housing in the Borough for the next five years.
The Government’s modernisation agenda has set new challenges in the way the Council delivers its services. A number of key policy developments and drivers of change, including Best Value, Community Planning and Comprehensive Performance Assessments have heralded the beginning of a new approach to housing within Charnwood.
Learning from the past and looking to future opportunities the Council has begun a process of strengthening its role as the strategic housing authority. Underpinning this process the Council has worked in close partnership with the local community, partner organisations and other local stakeholders to ensure we deliver reliable, cost effective, and quality services whilst providing the infrastructure to enable other service and housing providers to deliver services that reflect the aspirations of local communities.
This Housing Strategy aims to put the foundations in place to give everyone in the Borough the opportunity of a decent affordable home and so promote well being and self-dependence. This is a key element in the Council’s vision as set out in our Corporate Plan ‘Leading in Leicestershire’ and in delivering the Council’s main priority:
‘Ensuring the Borough is recognised as Leading in Leicestershire for the quality of its living environment for all’
Housing is about more than physical structures - it extends to the local community and the quality of life the home provides. One of our six corporate aims is that of ‘Decent Homes and Neighbourhoods’; raising the standards of homes and the surrounding environment, fostering sustainable communities, and providing quality advice to those in housing need. This strategy is integral to delivering the Council’s vision and the aims of the Corporate Plan. It does not exist in isolation. The strength of the linkages to the corporate policy framework are highlighted throughout.
In February 2005 the Borough’s Local Strategic Partnership hosted a Housing Consultation Event to invite local stakeholders to shape and influence this Housing Strategy. The housing priorities arising out of that event form the foundations of this document.
This promises to be a time of change, and implementing change. ‘Charnwood Housing Strategy: Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’ has been developed with and approved by our key partners and local stakeholders. They will also be involved in taking this strategy forward and monitoring its progress. We look forward to the continued involvement of the local community, partners and other interested parties in successfully delivering these priorities Councillor Betty Newton and turning our shared vision into reality. Lead Member for Housing
3 Summary and Priorities
‘Charnwood Housing Strategy: Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’ (2005-2010)
• Why have a Housing Strategy
The Council is a landlord to almost 6,000 tenants and over 250 leaseholders as well as several community shopkeepers. It also has powers and responsibilities to promote balanced housing markets through:
• planning powers to deliver new affordable housing • enforcement powers against owners of unfit or empty properties and • statutory responsibilities to prevent and respond to homelessness.
This Strategy explains how the Council will balance its differing roles, what its priorities for housing are and how it will deliver them in partnership with others.
The Local Government Act 2003 introduced ‘fit for purpose’ criteria giving a clear structure for future housing strategies. This includes the need to have a widely consulted and well thought through plan to deliver housing services. The reasons for this are clear; the lack of appropriate housing is linked to a whole range of social factors including poor health, environmental problems, homelessness, crime and disorder and low educational achievements. The way in which the Council improves housing and sets its strategic objectives can help to address these problems and, in doing so, ensure services are provided which achieve the Council’s quality of life objectives.
The Council’s vision for housing is to:
‘Deliver improved access to good quality affordable homes and related services for the people of Charnwood to support a sustainable and balanced community.’
The Council recognise that a strategy for housing alone will not achieve this. This will only happen if it make sure its priorities and plans for housing have been developed in the wider context of creating and maintaining sustainable communities. This strategy also embraces the vision for the Borough of the Charnwood Strategic Partnership (CSP) which is the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP):
‘An improved quality of life for everyone living and working in Charnwood.’
The CSP ensures that different initiatives and services work together to achieve this vision through the delivery of the Community Strategy. ‘Charnwood Housing Strategy: Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’ will make a significant contribution to the achievement of plans and targets contained both in the Community Strategy and the Council’s Corporate Plan, Leading in Leicestershire. In doing so, it will have a major impact on creating and maintaining sustainable communities across the Borough.
The Council has also reflected both the vision of the Government’s national ‘Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future’, agenda together with the objectives and priorities contained within the East Midlands Regional Housing Strategy within this document.
• Developing a Strategy for Housing
To ensure that the Council has produced a strategy that reflects and contributes to wider objectives, it has received contributions from a wide range of partners and stakeholders through a number of routes.
4 Housing Consultation Event Held in February 2005, over 100 partners, stakeholders and customers attended the council’s stakeholder conference under the banner of the LSP (which includes agencies such as Health Authority, Social Services, Police, Charnwood Voluntary Service (CVS), Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). During the event delegates considered the key housing issues within the Borough. Workshops were held to provide a further opportunity to consider options and develop priorities for the housing strategy, the Stock Options Appraisal (SOA) for the future of the Council’s own stock and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan.
Virtual Stakeholder Panel The Virtual Stakeholder Panel was a key outcome of the Housing Consultation event. The panel comprises a range of members, including representatives of partner organisations, tenant representatives and customers who are the ‘quality controllers’ overseeing the content and accessibility of this strategy.
Consultation on Stock Options Appraisal The Council appointed the ‘Tenant Participation Advisory Service’ (TPAS) to undertake a series of consultation events with key partners, stakeholders and customers. This included presentations to the Council’s SOA Steering Group, tenant roadshows and a briefing for all Borough Councillors
The Council has developed as part of the SOA process, clear Communications and Tenant Empowerment Strategies and are also revising the Tenant and Leaseholder Compact, which will set out the current structure for participation. The revised Compact will be published later in 2005.
Strategic Housing Priorities The Council’s key objectives and priorities for housing have been selected by considering the contribution each can make to:
• the CSP Community Strategy vision and objectives • the impact that our priorities will have on communities and customers and • the wider strategic aims of partners, regional and national priorities.
Through consultation the Council has identified three key objectives:
• Objective 1- Enabling Regeneration and Affordable Homes; • Objective 2 - Decent Homes in All Tenures; • Objective 3 - Supporting a Healthy Thriving Community.
Meeting these challenges will require significant resources and funding partnerships between the Council, other Local Authorities in the Three Cities sub region, the Regional Housing Board, the Voluntary Sector and the Private Sector. As each of these objectives requires a partnership approach, progress can be made against these simultaneously as resources for delivery are shared amongst many partner agencies.
To ensure all of these aims are achieved the Council has a robust Performance Management Framework in place. The Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy, Three Year Capital Plan and (HRA) Business Plan contain details of the resources allocated to meet the requirements of this Strategy.
5 Summary of Strategy Objectives
Objectives Strategic Aims Priorities & Ranking Aim 1 - Creating Sustainable 1. Rural affordability Communities 2. Affordable homes Ensure all new developments are planned 3. Impact of student population on the to ensure infrastructure is already housing market in Loughborough available. Involve all communities in the sustainable future of their Objective 1 neighbourhoods Enabling Aim 2 - Balanced Housing Markets 1. Closer consideration of the type and Regeneration Understand the local housing market to size of housing provided locally and ensure a balanced provision of housing 2. Provision for ageing population Affordable across all tenures 3. Key Worker provision Homes Aim 3 - Delivering Affordable 1. More flexibility in housing provision Housing 2. Increase affordable housing targets Increase the availability of good quality on new developments to 30% affordable homes for people in housing 3. More specialist housing need as part of a co-ordinated approach to regeneration Aim 4 - Providing Decent Homes 1. Achieving the ‘Decent Homes Ensure all social housing and private Standard’ sector homes occupied by vulnerable 2. Improvements which produce lower people meet the Decent Homes running costs for tenants Objective 2 standards by 2010 3. A logical approach to the Decent programming of work to tenants’ Homes in all homes Tenures Aim 5 - Promoting Affordable 1. High quality maintenance Warmth 2. Upgrading home insulation Improve energy efficiency in all homes 3. Installing energy efficient appliances with the aim of eradicating fuel poverty Aim 6 - Promoting Healthy Homes 1. Improving community health using Identify the links between housing development control interventions Objective 3 situation/condition and the underlying and policies Supporting a determinants of health and deal with the 2. Addressing health inequalities and Healthy related long-term causes of health targeting specific groups (e.g. older Thriving inequalities people, teenage parents, the Community homeless, Gypsies and Travellers 3. Health checks for neighbourhoods using pilot money from the Office of The Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) Aim 7 - Protecting the Community 1. Appropriate intervention to anti- Ensure resident feel safe within their social behaviour homes, their neighbourhood and their 2. Designing out crime in the physical wider community environment 3. Community development and engagement Aim 8 - Tackling Homelessness 1. Increased resources for prevention Increase the prevention of homelessness, 2. Direct access emergency and support to those who are homeless, accommodation or threatened with homelessness 3. Improved inter-agency working with common aims and resources
6 Aim 9 - Supporting Vulnerable 1. Individually tailored support People 2. Supported accommodation for Improve the quality of life for the different needs vulnerable people of Charnwood 3. More effective joint working through the provision of well-planned, high quality housing and related support services based on individual needs that enable people to live independently
Realising the Councils priorities and achieving its actions and plans will go a long way to making its vision for housing in Charnwood a reality.
The Council needs to ensure this Strategy produces real results. An Action Plan has, therefore, been included, which shows the specific tasks, initiatives and other work that will be carried out to meet its priorities. Many of the actions identified have been drawn from other strategies and plans. In doing so, the council ensures that it co-ordinates its actions and takes a more ‘joined up’ approach to delivering results. The Action Plan is to be monitored by the Housing Strategy Steering Group and updated frequently to show the progress that is being made.
A Five-Year Strategy ‘Charnwood Housing Strategy: Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’ must be a living document. Housing markets are increasingly dynamic. Much will develop in Charnwood over the next five years including:
• An ALMO for the management of Council’s Housing Stock • A review of the Homelessness Strategy • Key elements of Charnwood’s Local Development Framework (LDF) including its Core Strategy, Housing & Employment Site Allocations and affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Documents will be developed • Green Spaces Strategy and other neighbourhood strategies will be devised • A review of the Charnwood Community Strategy and • Revision of Crime Reduction & Safety Strategy.
It is envisaged that the priorities and policies set out in this document will be maintained during the lifetime of this strategy. However, given the pace of change within society, the need to respond to local housing requirements, central government expectations, and the drive for continuous improvement, it may be necessary to review certain elements where needs and requirements significantly alter over time.
7 Chapter 1 Context and Delivery
• Chapter Outline
The housing agenda in England is currently being driven forward at a number of policy levels. National and regional strategic housing policy initiatives are influencing how the Council delivers housing services to the local community. The implementation of new legislation and subsequent requirements on the Council make it crucial for it to engage at all levels as it recognises the need to respond to a variety of views.
How this strategy is delivered is vitally important. This chapter outlines the structures and processes in place in Charnwood to ensure that this strategy really does underpin all activities and makes Charnwood a place where people choose to live and where the local people have a real say in local issues and shaping the community.
This chapter will:
• describe the national, regional and local strategies and plans that have influenced this strategy • provide examples of how the Councils work contributes to national, regional and local aims and objectives • explore how the Council influence the strategies and plans of others and • describe its relationships with partners.
• How this Strategy Links to the National Context
The Government’s national action plan, Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future (the Communities Plan) 2003 set out a programme for action for delivering sustainable communities for all. This included polices for tackling access to decent affordable housing in decent surroundings, and homes in poor condition occupied by vulnerable people. These are all key elements of this strategy and are discussed in more detail in Chapters 4 & 5.
The Government’s Five Year Strategy ‘Sustainable Communities: Homes for All’ published in January 2005 describes the next phase in delivering the Sustainable Communities Plan and emphasises the role of the strategic housing authority in the delivery of these policies.
The priorities emerging from both of these plans have been adopted by this strategy and implemented in the following policy areas:
Homes where they are needed most - Growth area priorities are not relevant to the Council, but will inevitably impact on the level of investment available, as resources are concentrated towards these areas. - Increasing the supply of affordable housing is considered a high priority.
Sustainable home ownership - No demand at present for keyworker housing within the Borough (Chapter 3). - First Time Buyers initiative requires further advice from the ODPM and the Regional Housing Board. - The adoption of the SPD on affordable housing will work to a guideline that around 25% of all new provision will be for shared ownership schemes (Chapter 3). - The Council will continue to promote affordable home ownership options, including Homebuy.
Quality & Choice for those who rent - The Council is currently reviewing the Allocations Policy with a view to introducing a Choice Based Lettings Scheme by 2010 (Chapter 3).
8 - The Council is in the process of setting up an ALMO to continue its sustained investment in social housing to meet the Decent Homes Standard by 2010 (Chapter 3). - RSLs have projected they are on target to meet the Decent Homes Standard in 2010 (Chapter 3). - Through continued promotion of energy efficiency schemes and public/private sector partnerships the Council will work towards improving homes in the private sector to ensure at least 70% of vulnerable people live in decent homes by 2010 (Chapter 3). - The Council is taking a more strategic approach to planning, growth and infrastructure. The adoption of a SPD on student housing issues and affordable housing are recent examples of collaborative working between planning and housing (Chapter 3). Other examples include a wider analysis of the housing market, involving the production of a Housing Market Assessment (HMA) and effective working between housing services in the reduction of empty homes and the development of a Private Sector Leasing (PSL) Scheme (Chapters 3 & 4).
Reviving communities and housing markets - Tackling low demand and abandonment is not relevant to the Council
Support for those who need it - The Council has adopted and implemented a number of homelessness preventative initiatives to ensure it meets and maintains the statutory requirement to reduce the use of ed & Breakfast (B&B) for families with children. It is also exploring other partnership initiatives to halve the number of all households in temporary accommodation, including new specialist prevention officers and the implementation of a homelessness prevention fund (Chapter 4). - Through a partnership approach the Council has developed a range of general and specialist support services for vulnerable people within Charnwood to remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible, where appropriate.
Enhancing the environment - The Council is making better use of land by promoting the use of Brownfield sites, ensuring all new development and regeneration schemes are Egan compliant partnerships, providing more affordable housing through the adoption of a (SPD) and working in partnership to research rural housing issues (Chapter 3).
In devising the key objectives of the housing strategy, the Council has incorporated relevant issues, which have been presented by Central Government as key priorities:
Key National Objectives Vehicle for Delivery Supporting People Programme Community Strategy • Improve quality of life by providing stable environments, Corporate Plan enabling greater independence Housing Strategy • Deliver high quality housing related services which are cost effective and compliment existing care services Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 Community Strategy • Work towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination Corporate Plan • Promote equality of opportunity and good relations between Housing Strategy persons of different racial groups Housing Equalities Action • Enable equal access to housing and housing services in the Plan Borough
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Community Strategy • Work towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination Corporate Plan • Enable equal access to housing and housing services in the Housing Strategy Borough
9 National Service Framework for Older People Supporting People Strategy • Improve the quality and range of housing and support services Housing Strategy Strategy for Community Safety Community Strategy • To work together to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and Corporate Plan the harm caused by drugs Housing Act 2004 Housing Strategy • Improve the council’s control on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) • Modernise the council’s role in assessing poor housing conditions • Improve the condition of stock in the private sector to meet the Decent Homes Standard
• How this Strategy Links to the Regional Context
The East Midlands Regional Housing Strategy 2004-2010 will form the basis of decisions on investment and allocation of resources for new social housing in the region from 2006-8.
The Regional Housing Strategy identifies seven issues and challenges faced by the East Midlands region as a whole: • housing affordability • structural economic change • changing levels of demand • stock condition and neighbourhood renewal • suitability of housing for vulnerable people • providing more homes • joined up approach.
The East Midlands region is divided into five sub-areas with Charnwood being included in the Three Cities Sub-region. A sub-regional grouping for the Three Cities has been established to represent the sub-regional interests to the Regional Housing Board. As a member of this group, the Council has been actively involved in influencing the development of the Regional Housing Strategy and the East Midlands Sub-Regional Action Plan.
The sub-regional housing group has prioritised four of the sixteen regional policies which reflect the key issues of the sub-region. These polices are grouped under three regional strategic aims – balance, inclusion and co-ordination:
East Midlands Sub-regional Agreed Sub-regional Housing Strategy Strategic Action Plan Actions Aim • Policy 1 (Balance)- • Develop joint S106 • Aim 1: Creating Increasing the quantity protocol across the Sustainable and improving delivery districts Communities of appropriate high • Share cross-boundary • Aim 3: Delivering quality affordable market information Affordable Housing housing for all • Identify level of communities Housing Corporation resources to meet the need for affordable housing across the sub- region • Policy 6 (Balance) - • Joint initiatives on • Aim 4: Providing Delivering decent procurement Decent Homes homes and decent • Ensure RHB are aware • Aim 5: Promoting neighbourhoods: of level of resources Affordable Warmth decent homes in the required to meet SOA social sector outcomes
10 • Policy 5 (Balance) - • Identify level of Private • Aim 4: Providing Delivering decent Sector Housing Decent Homes homes and decent resources required • Aim 5: Promoting neighbourhoods: across the sub-region Affordable Warmth renewing and re- to meet Governmental vitalising the private targets sector • Collaboration on Private Sector House Condition Stock surveys • Private Sector Officers to identify shared definition of vulnerable households • Policy 9 (Inclusion) - • Share development and • Aim 8:Tackling Tackling the causes of delivery of key action Homelessness homelessness under homelessness strategies • Longer term development of schemes to provide housing and support and develop young people • Review cross authority supporting people arrangements to maximise existing resources • Involve Districts/Borough’s in specialist City schemes to help meet demands (A full list of the Regional Housing Polices can be found in Appendix 6)
In delivering these actions the Council aims to ensure the existing and future housing stock is appropriate to meet the housing needs of all parts of the community.
Key strategies will be developed by the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) and their regional partners. The Council will continue to contribute to the development of these strategies through reviews of the Regional Housing Strategy and Regional Spatial Strategy. Examples of contributions include:
• Lead Housing Member representation on the Regional Housing Task Group which was involved in the development of the Regional Housing Strategy
• participation in the Regional Housing Consultation Event in April 2004 and contributions to the draft Regional Housing Strategy
• as a member of the Three-Cities Sub-Regional Housing Group the Council has been actively involved in influencing the development of the East Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy, which has included the development of the Three Cities Action Plan
• Initiated and developed the Leicestershire and Rutland Development and Strategy Officer’s Group. One of the Group’s aims is to provide a response to the Government’s agenda for cross boundary working and a means of influencing the Regional Housing debate. The Group is contributing towards a number of the actions identified within the Sub-Regional Action Plan, which will be monitored by the Chief Housing Officers Group (CHOG)
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• representation on the Leicestershire Homelessness Forum and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Housing Sub-committee tasked with delivering actions identified within the sub-regional action plan
• Chairing the Core Strategy Development Group for Supporting People
• submitting formal representations during the preparation of the current Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands (RSS8)
• representing Leicestershire districts on the Three Cities Sub Area Officer Working Group contributing to the preparation of a sub regional strategy as a part of the review of the Regional Spatial Strategy.
The Draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands (RSS8) was published in March 2005 and provides a long-term spatial vision for the region up to 2021. It will replace the Regional Planning Guidance published in January 2002. The RSS8 provides the framework for meeting the Region’s development needs in a way that promotes a more sustainable pattern of development.
Loughborough University and its students have a major beneficial effect upon the local economy. However the impact upon local housing and the cohesion of certain communities is less positive. Diversion of a significant fraction of the housing stock to student accommodation (some areas have a student population of over 50%) can detract from a local sense of belonging. The impact of the University and the potential tensions in areas of new housing between established residents and newcomers have been identified as important issues in the final report of the Charnwood Community Cohesion Pathfinder programme (Community Cohesion in Charnwood - Meeting the Challenge, April 2005). The impact of the University is discussed in more detail in a report entitled "Loughborough - A Great University Town in the Making", prepared as part of the Pathfinder programme. This is available at http://www.charnwoodonline.net/pathfinder/77975.html
Health related matters are also an area where the Council has a growing role to play with the link between health and housing being well documented. The Council is committed to reducing health inequalities within the Borough by working in partnership with the Local Primary Care Trust to deliver the objectives set out in the ‘Investment for Health Strategy for the East Midlands’ (2003). These issues are discussed in detail later in Chapter 4.
• How this Strategy Links to the Local Context
This strategy adopts the vision of the CSP to be a place which offers ‘an improved quality of life for everyone living and working in Charnwood’. The Partnership ensures that different initiatives and services work together to achieve this vision, through the delivery of the Charnwood Community Strategy.
The Housing Strategy reflects the overall aims of the Partnership, in particular, ‘to secure decent homes for all’. Of particular relevance to the Partnership will be the community aspects of housing where real and greater results can be achieved through joined up efforts. These actions are likely to be targeted at specific geographical areas of the Borough, or certain groups within the community. In either situation, housing is very likely to have a role to play.
Consultation with residents and stakeholders has revealed that crime and the fear of crime is a top priority and a major factor in determining if somewhere is a good place to live2. The Crime and
2 Citizen’s Panel Survey (2003) & Best Value User Satisfaction Survey (2003/4). The Council operates a Citizen’s Panel of some 1,400 people in Charnwood who are consulted periodically by questionnaire survey on a range of topics. The Best Value User Satisfaction Survey is a questionnaire consultation carried out every three years. This is carried out following guidance issued by the Government and which all local authorities must follow.
12 Disorder Reduction Strategy 2005-2008 developed by the Community Safety Partnership, aims to support victims and witnesses to tackle crime and the causes of crime to improve neighbourhoods and communities. Initiatives to reduce the causes and effects of crime are highlighted in Chapter 4.
Promoting Charnwood as a place to work and invest in will encourage people to live in the Borough and create employment and training opportunities for our existing residents. Charnwood’s Economic Development Strategy 2004-2014 has provided the Council with an opportunity to ensure it identifies actions to align economic and housing plans. The Council intend to work with major employers in the Borough to ensure that appropriate housing is available and the housing market doesn’t contribute to recruitment difficulties. It is also monitoring the situation with regards to the housing needs of key workers in the Borough (Chapter 3).
The Leicestershire Learning Disability Housing Strategy has identified housing options across the county as a whole for those with learning disabilities. The needs for the county have been further updated with the Leicestershire Learning Disability Housing Needs Survey, produced in 2005 (Chapter 4).
Local Area Agreements (LAA) are negotiated agreements between the Government and groups of local authorities to improve local performance against national priorities. At a County level the Council are supporting the County Council’s expression of interest for Leicestershire to pilot a LAA in 2006/7. The LAA will be structured around four themes:
• Children & Young People • Safer & Stronger Communities • Healthier Communities and Older People and • Economic Development.
The nine strategic aims set out in this strategy underpin all of the above themes.
The Council’s Corporate Plan ‘Leading in Leicestershire’ to 2011/12 identifies six strategic aims that will support achievement of its vision and its main priority of ‘ensuring the Borough is recognised as Leading in Leicestershire for the quality of its living environment for all’;
• A Sustainable Environment • A Clean, Safe and Healthy Environment • Leisure and Cultural Opportunities for All • Decent Homes and Neighbourhoods • An Economically Prosperous Environment • An Excellent Council.
Underpinning the vision and strategic aims are the guiding principles of: • Leading in the Community • Leading in Innovation • Leading with Quality Services.
All of the above aims and principles are of relevance to, and provide a focus for, the development of the Housing Strategy.
There are many other corporate issues and activities that influence the Council’s strategic plans for housing and the drive to seek quality in all that it does. The following plans align to the Housing Strategy and contribute to the achievement of a long-term vision for the Borough:
HRA Business Plan Linking into the Housing Strategy is the HRA Business Plan. This relates to the Council’s 6000 properties, setting out the current position, priorities for the future, options for meeting priorities and future actions projected over a thirty-year period. However, as Government funding is not stable over such long periods, mainly due to legislative changes, but also due to levels of Right to Buy (RTB),
13 resources cannot be predicted with certainty for more than a few years ahead, therefore the Business Plan is reviewed annually.
This strategy will only provide a brief overview of conditions in the Council stock. Further information regarding this can be found in the HRA Business Plan ( 2005/6 – 2035/36) ‘Your Home; Our Business’.
The Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan The Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan was adopted in March 2005. It sets out strategic planning policy for Leicestershire over the period to 2016. For Charnwood it identifies a requirement for an additional 9,400 dwellings over the period 19996 to 2016. This determines the opportunities for affordable housing provision in the Borough.
The Local Plan The Borough of Charnwood Local Plan was adopted in January 2004. The Plan identifies a mix of greenfield and brownfield sites capable of producing a wide rage of types and styles of housing including elements of rented, shared ownership or low cost housing for those of limited means and access housing specifically designed for the needs of the aging population.
The plan reflects guidance in Planning Policy Guidance 3 (PPG3) and identifies sufficient sites to meet the Council’s strategic housing requirements up to 2006. In preparing the plan the Council’s Planning and Housing Departments worked together to develop a range of policies to secure affordable housing on allocated and windfall sites in areas of identified need.
Work has commenced on the Charnwood LDF looking forward to 2016 which will replace the Local Plan. Over the next three years key documents including the Core Strategy and Housing and Employment Allocations will be prepared.
A number of SPDs have been prepared to provide guidance on the provision of affordable housing, student housing provision in Loughborough and design in new developments.
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Strategy Bookcase National Priorities
Enabler Enabler
Exclusion Exclusion t and Lettings and Lettings Tackling Social Improve Social Social Improve to the Homeless Strategic Housing Strategic Housing Standards Restructuring Rent Choice in Allocations Allocations in Choice Strengthen Protection
Sustainable Home Home Sustainable Ownership Affordable New Housing Improving Housing Benefi
Regional Housing Strategy 2004 – 2010
Balance Co-ordination Policies 14,15,16 Policies 1,2,4,5,6,8 Inclusion Policies 9,10,11,12,13
Charnwood Community Strategy 2003-2005
t Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough Borough A Learning A Learning Environmen A Sustainable A Sustainable An Accessible A Culturally Rich A Prosperous A Prosperous Borough An Inclusive Borough with A Borough Homes Decent Borough A Safer A Healthy Borough
Charnwood Borough Council Corporate Plan 2011-12
Environment Environment A Sustainable A Sustainable A Clean, Safe and Healthy Environment LeisureCultural and OpportunitiesAll for Homes Decent and Neighbourhoods An Economically Environment Prosperous An Excellent Council
Housing Strategy Priorities 2005-2010
le p
y Markets Markets Housing Supporting Supporting Balanced Housing Vulnerable Peo Delivering Affordable Creating Sustainable Creating Sustainable Communities Providing Decent Homes Promoting Warmth Affordable Healthy Promoting Homes Protecting the Communit Tackling Homelessness
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• Turning Strategy into Reality
To make this strategy successful the Council must ensure all partners, stakeholders and customers have the opportunity to support its delivery and its impact. Consultation and Partnership working therefore is at the heart of the strategy.
Consultation has been an important facet in shaping this strategy. To help achieve its goals, the Council commissioned Dome Consultants to undertake a Housing Strategy Stakeholder Consultation during 2002 to influence the development of the 2003-2008 Housing Strategy. This involved a series of face-to-face interviews with partners and stakeholders to establish, at a strategic level, how the Council could plan for the future to achieve common objectives. This has continued to inform and enabled the Council to build on and develop its role in the following areas:
• strengthen its partnership working of existing representative groups, including a wider representation of the RSL Liaison Group, an increased role for the Charnwood Council Leaseholder and Tenants Association (CCLATA), revitalising the Private Sector Landlords’ Forum and the merger of the Single Homelessness Strategy Steering Group and the Homelessness Strategy Steering Group to facilitate a more joined-up approach to the prevention of homelessness. For the Housing SOA process a steering group comprising members, council officers, tenants and leaseholders was formed to oversee the appraisal process
• develop sub-strategies to the Housing Strategy, including the Single Homelessness Strategy and more recently the 2003 Homelessness Review and Strategy
• undertake further research by commissioning a Housing Needs Survey (HNS) during 2003 and more recently a HNS Desktop Update, Dwelling Balance Analysis (DBA) and HMA during 2005. This has enabled the Council to gain a better understanding of local housing needs and requirements
• promote positive working with other sectors, including innovative joint working with the voluntary sector to establish housing related support services.
More recently, the 2005 Housing Consultation Event has allowed the Council to obtain a fresh analysis of the emerging issues within the Borough and to set priorities which reflect the current needs of the local community. Housing-specific consultation is ongoing and has informed the development of the Housing Strategy.
Appendix 5 outlines the Consultation Framework along with a list of the organisations invited to the consultation event.
A summary version of both the Housing Strategy and the HRA business plan will be produced so that key information contained in both documents will be accessible to the wider community. CCLATA were asked to review these summary versions as they were considered to be in a strong position to advise on the accessibility of these documents from a tenant/resident perspective.
In addition to the Housing Strategy Steering Group there are many examples of good practice of partnership working in our Borough which are referred to throughout this document and in detail in Appendix 4.
• Performance Management Framework
Underpinning partnership working and to further ensure the successful delivery of this strategy a comprehensive Performance Management Framework (PMF) has been developed. This PMF monitors the performance and impact of the strategy and operates on two levels providing ownership and links to relevant plans:
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• Strategic: involving high level partnerships including the CSP, the Housing Improvement Group (HIG) and Housing Strategy Steering Group, which inform the future vision and priorities for the Corporate Plan and the housing strategy within the Borough
• Programme: provides a clear framework for the ongoing management of performance particularly the delivery of our Action Plan and progress toward meeting targets and performance indicators.
• Monitoring and Report Framework
The Monitoring Framework for our Strategy is as follows: By whom Frequency Overall progress against The Housing Improvement Group, the Quarterly strategic objectives Housing Strategy Steering Group (supported by the LSP) and Members through the committee structure Performance against Best Housing Managers Group Monthly Value and local PI targets
Progress against Service Senior Management Team Fortnightly Improvement Plan targets
Delivery of capital and Capital Programme Monitoring Group Bi-monthly revenue programme: private sector.
Review of performance, Through partnership working arrangements Monthly/Quarterly objectives and priorities depending on the Group Tenants and Leaseholders (CCLATA) and Bi-monthly associated resident groups Residents: Customer Satisfaction Surveys Continuous Best Value Improvement Charnwood Tenant & Council Partnership Ongoing Plan performance (CTTP), Council, Cabinet and Scrutiny Committees
Progress Reports and Updating of the Action Plan Progress on the action plan will be monitored throughout the year by the Housing Strategy Steering Group on a quarterly basis and will be reported to members and the CSP. This monitoring framework will allow us to ensure that actions remain on target for the life of this strategy.
Performance Information about Spend on the Council’s Housing Related Revenue and Capital Budgets. Financial information relating to the Council’s housing revenue and capital budgets is reported on a monthly basis to the Financial Strategy Group. This level of monitoring highlights accomplishments and areas where progress is not being achieved on target and allows us to put in place proposals for rectification.
Customer Satisfaction and Feedback Methods The Council has agreed a Corporate Communications Strategy to ensure the direct involvement of the community in the delivery of services. This will give an opportunity for people
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who live in the Borough or who use the Borough’s facilities to influence the decisions that the Council makes. It is intended that the Communications Strategy will provide an overall framework for the Council to devise ways of achieving its aims for consultation, which adhere to the Council’s values. The Strategy is available at www.charwood.gov.uk
The Council is developing a system of continual assessment of its performance in this area to enable tenants to have an immediate influence on improvements to service delivery.
Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) CPA is fundamental to the delivery of the Housing Strategy and the Corporate Plan. Audit Commission Inspectors visited the Council during May 2004 to see how well the Council was performing and how well its plans and services met local and national expectations. The Inspectors judged the Council against a nationally applied set of standards across a range of themes and found that overall the Council was ‘fair’ but that based on its current plans, it is likely to improve its services. Improvement areas will be addressed through the Service Delivery Plans or through management action. The Service Delivery Plans will also be the mechanism for setting targets for a number of Best Value Performance Indicators (Appendix 2).
Progress Report Since the adoption of the last Strategy, the Council and its partners have achieved a number of successes in relation to housing:
Housing Strategy 2003-2008 Action Plan Action Outcome • Undertake a full Housing Options Appraisal to • Completed 2005. ALMO agreed determine the future ownership and as preferred option management of the Council’s housing stock • Undertake Housing Needs Survey • Borough wide HNS completed 2003 • HNS Desktop Update, DBA and HMA undertaken 2005 • Review affordable housing requirements in the • Development SPD which aims to existing Local Plan increase the affordable housing target to 30% and to strengthen the Council’s position in negotiations • Work with RSLs to provide new social housing, • Selected 12 (RSLs) to be Partners being funded by either the Housing and began regular dialogues with Corporation or through the Council’s annual those currently interested in Social Housing Grant (SHG) development in Charnwood • Attracted £5.7 million of SHG to the Borough from the Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programme for 2004- 2006 • Invested £2.7 million of Council funds in the provision of new affordable homes between April 2002 and March 2003 • Enabled the development of 255 new affordable homes between April 2002 and March 2005, including 167 for rent and 70 for shared ownership • Produce a corporate and housing specific • Produced in 2003 and reviewed strategy for anti-social behaviour in all tenures in 2005 • Employed three neighbourhood
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wardens to work on three of the Councils estates, initially match funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and now mainstreamed by the HRA • Enable the Association of Charnwood Tennant • Review of the ACT and (ACT) to stimulate the formation of more formation of Charnwood tenant groups Community Leaseholders and Tenants Association (CCLATA) • Approved a Tenant Empowerment Strategy (TES) • Produced a Tenant Compact • Support the work of the Leicestershire Rural • Produced three new village need Housing Enabler surveys • Promote cross-boundary working • Inaugurated a Development and Strategy Officer’s Group for Leicestershire and Rutland • Redeem all outstanding debt • Debt free 2004 • Identify the opportunities for further • Completed Urban Capacity Study development on previously developed land March 2004 • Work with Loughborough University and • The University has submitted residents groups to develop strategies to tackle proposals for the provision of the impact of student housing in Loughborough additional managed accommodation on Campus. The Council has recently published for consultation options for managing student housing provision in the town through a SPD • Carry out a satisfaction survey of all tenants • Completed on a regular basis • Develop a Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) • Carried forward Strategy for housing across all tenures • Develop a Youth Strategy for council housing • Incorporated within the Children estates & Young Person’s Strategy 2005 The Condition of the Housing Stock • Undertake a 10% sample Decent Homes Survey • Completed 2004 of the Council’s Housing stock to establish and forecast the likely condition by 2010 in relation to Government criteria • Devise a new policy for private sector • Adopted Private Sector Housing improvement grants to reflect local priorities, Assistance Policy 2004 new legislation and Government guidance • Develop a corporate and unified approach to • Development of a Draft Climate energy management, including reviewing the Change Strategy current management and service delivery arrangements • Work in partnership with the local Primary • Ongoing via Affordable Warmth Care Trust to reduce excess winter deaths Policy • Remodel the Council’s accommodation that has • Remodelling of Grays Court, become ‘difficult to let’ Barrow upon Soar • Undertake a Private Sector House Condition • Survey commissioned 2005 Survey • Improve service performance in terms of the • Revised the voids ‘lettable’ Council’s role as a landlord to reduce long term standard and new voids contract rent arrears and turnaround time on void 2005 properties
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Homelessness and Support for the Community • Undertake a review of homelessness trends in • Charnwood Homelessness & the district and publish a Homelessness Strategy Review Strategy produced July 2003 • Review our Single Persons Homelessness • Single Homelessness Strategy Strategy to ensure the Council is meeting the merged with Homelessness Government target of fewer than 10 rough Strategy 2004. Rough Sleeping sleepers remains below 10 • In partnership with Voluntary Sector Agencies, • Secured the highest allocation in bid for ODPM Homelessness Grants Funding the East Midlands (2002-4), and for the prevention of homelessness third highest allocation in (2005- 6) for a Borough Council • Develop a wide range of Tenancy Support • Successfully bid for Supporting schemes for new and existing client groups, as People funding providing a wide the need is identified range of Tenancy Support Schemes for vulnerable client groups • In partnership with the Charnwood Shelter • Mediation Service in operation project establish a local mediation service for April 2003 homeless 16/17 year olds and their parents, which has been accredited by Mediation UK • Establish a floating support scheme for lone • Floating support scheme in place 16/17-year-old teenage parents and operational by April 2003 • Contribute to the development of the • Ongoing representation on the Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Forum • Contribute to the establishment of a Sure Start • Completed 2003/4 Programme in Loughborough • Contribute to the effective implementation of • Ongoing representation on the the Supporting People Programme in Core Strategy Development Leicestershire Group and Supporting People Commissioning Body • Develop an Older Persons Housing Strategy • Ongoing representation on the Sheltered Housing Providers Group to develop a Countywide Older Persons Housing Strategy
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Chapter 2 How the Housing Market Changes
• Chapter Outline
Social, demographic and economic trends have brought about a variety of changes within the housing market in Charnwood. As such, it is of utmost importance that the Council has a good understanding of what is driving these market changes and then uses this information to manage, anticipate and influence housing markets in the future. This understanding of housing markets in the Borough will shape the Council’s priorities, help assess options and determine future plans and actions.
A Housing Needs Survey update has been commissioned within the last year to develop a greater understanding of the housing market. The Housing Needs Survey Desktop Update (2005) and the Housing Market Assessment (2005) can be found at www.charnwood.gov.uk
This chapter will:
• describe the main features of Charnwood’s housing markets • highlight key information about communities and their housing circumstance; • explain that understanding the housing market is a continuous process.
• Context
Charnwood is situated within the centre of the ‘Three Cities’ sub-region with good transport links to the cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. The M1 passes through the west of the Borough providing links to a number of large cities including London to the South and Sheffield and Leeds to the North. There are rail links to London, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Birmingham.
Loughborough is a thriving commercial centre with strong associations, not only with higher education, but also engineering, pharmaceuticals and a growing reputation in advanced technologies. This has helped to strengthen the local economy, however, general affluence within the Borough conceals pockets of deprivation in some wards.
• The Dynamic Housing Market
To take a strategic approach to the housing needs of the Borough the Council need to have a clear understanding of both the supply of and demand for housing within the region both at an aggregate level and in relation to particular groups disproportionately disadvantaged by the market.
Much market activity, such as house price inflation, is beyond the Council’s control. However, with an understanding of issues, such as: what housing supply is available, what condition housing is in, what it costs and what demand there is for different types of housing the Council can set priorities for RSL partners to have regard to when identifying potential development sites, particularly, where our own Enabling Grant will be used and shape enabling/planning policies such as SPDs.
The Housing Market During 2003 a Borough-wide HNS was commissioned to examine the housing requirements in both the market and social sectors. More recently, a HNS Desk Update Survey has been undertaken to re-analyse local housing requirements. This information will inform the basis of a DBA and HMA. These surveys will ensure that this strategy and the priorities and actions identified take into account the most up to date and accurate needs data available. In addition to this, the Council will be using data from other sources, including the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the Land Registry and 2001 Census data.
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• Factors Influencing Demand
Needs Assessment House price inflation in the fourth quarter of 2004 slowed in most regions with an overall increase of 0.1%, well below the 2.7% gain in the third quarter of 20043. The overall sound UK economic background and the lowest mortgage rates since the 1950s have boosted housing demand in recent months which is predicted to continue throughout the rest of 2005.
Halifax Index recorded UK house price inflation for the year ending 31st December 2004 at 15.1% and the Land Registry at 11.7%. The annual rate of house price inflation in Leicestershire rose by 11.8% as calculated by the Land Registry over the same period. However, within Charnwood this rose considerably by 14.7%.
Terraced houses are assessed to be the main entry-level property for first time buyers in view of the higher sales levels of sales within in the Borough. The increase in the price of entry level stock, terraced houses (48.5%) and flats/maisonettes (64.2%) is in excess of wage inflation in the two year period 2003/05. Incomes in the Borough are assessed independently to have increased by 10.1% over this period resulting in increased difficulties for first time buyers.
With interest rates at their lowest levels for over 45 years, people who cannot enter the market under these circumstances may never be able to do so. Further house price increases above wage inflation in 2005 would make access to market housing more difficult to achieve and would impact on households with marginal incomes more significantly, therefore, the need for affordable housing, particularly within the much higher priced areas is vital.
The HNS Update (2005) shows that 240 households plan to leave the Borough because of a lack of affordable housing to rent or buy, 99 of which are concealed households. There are also 2,971 households who said they wished to move but could not do so because they could not afford to move/buy a house and 712 who said they were unable to move due to a lack of affordable rented housing.
Deprivation England is separated into 32,482 Super Output Areas (SOAs) with Leicestershire separated into 396 for Indices of Deprivation. Although as a whole levels of deprivation within Leicestershire are low, with the county ranked 136th out of 149 nationally, a number of SOAs falling within Charnwood rate amongst the 20% most deprived in England. Each SOA has a nine-digit code and the table below shows which SOAs fall within the 10% and between 10 and 20% most deprived for each of the domains along with the SOA Code:
Domain 10% most deprived in England 20% most deprived in England Indices of E01025699 (Loughborough Hastings) Multiple E01025725 (Loughborough Storer) Deprivation E01025717 (Loughborough Shelthorpe) Income E01025717 (Loughborough E01025699 (Loughborough Hastings) Shelthorpe) E01025700 (Loughborough Hastings) E01025725 (Loughborough Storer) E01025701 (Loughborough Hastings) Employment E01025699 (Loughborough Hastings) E01025725 (Loughborough Storer) E01025706 (Loughborough Lemyngton) E01025717 (Loughborough Shelthorpe) E01025691 (Loughborough Dishley) Health E01025699 (Loughborough Hastings) E01025718 (Loughborough Southfields) Education E01025717 (Loughborough E01025715 (Loughborough Shelthorpe) E01025725 Shelthorpe) E01025690
3 HNS Update 2005
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(Loughborough Storer) (Loughborough Ashby) E01025747 (Shepshed West) E01025689 (Loughborough Ashby) E01025700 (Loughborough Hastings) E01025742 (Shepshed East) Barriers E01025760 (The Wolds) E01025738 (Rothley & Thurcaston) E01025757 (Syston West) Living E01025705 (Loughborough E01025703 (Loughborough Environment Lemyngton) Lemyngton) E01025720 (Loughborough Southfields) E01025701 (Loughborough Hastings) E01025724 (Loughborough Storer) Crime E01025720 (Loughborough E01025718 (Loughborough Southfields) E01025699 Southfields) E01025723 (Loughborough Hastings) (Loughborough Storer) E01025721 (Loughborough Southfields) IDAC (Income E01025717 (Loughborough E01025725 (Loughborough Storer) Deprivation Shelthorpe) E01025700 (Loughborough Hastings) Affecting E01025699 (Loughborough Hastings) Children) E01025701 (Loughborough Hastings) IDAOP E01025723 (Loughborough Storer) E01025697 (Loughborough Garendon) (Income E01025706 (Loughborough E01025703 (Loughborough Deprivation Lemyngton) E01025699 Lemyngton) E01025725 Affecting (Loughborough Hastings) E01025705 (Loughborough Storer) E01025685 Older People) (Loughborough Lemyngton) (East Goscote) E01025700 (Loughborough Hastings) E01025718 (Loughborough E01025701 (Loughborough Hastings) Southfields) An explanation of the basis on what the Domains are calculated can be found in Appendix 6.
• Factors Influencing Supply
Right to Buy Over the last five years 614 Council owned homes were sold under the Right to Buy. However, levels of sales have not remained constant. Within the first three years of this period sales averaged nearly 150 a year falling to 55 in the period 2004/05. Rising house prices together with the introduction of the cap in monetary terms of the maximum discount available has effectively reduced the discount available.
New Build Housing Completions in Charnwood Since 1991 there have been 7,850 new properties developed. The level of completions has increased significantly in the last couple of years as sites allocated for development in the Local Plan have come forward for development and higher levels of Brownfield site release have occurred. In 2003/4 there were 904 completions; while in 2004/5 completions totalled 912.
The largest single concentration of new build occurred in Loughborough with 3,000 new dwellings being provided since 1991. A range of dwelling types and sizes has been provided. In recent years the effect of policy changes introduced by PPG3 have been seen with the construction of a number one and two person flats at high densities on Brownfield sites within the town.
Buy to Let The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) produce a quarterly Lettings Market Survey. In January 2004 this concluded that first time buyers are being squeezed out of the market by buy-to-let investors who become the landlords of those who would have otherwise be buying properties themselves. By March 2005 they were reporting a cooling off of new entrants to the market although existing landlords were holding onto their properties. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the situation in Charnwood reflects the national picture with local building societies confirming a strong buy to let market that has grown in recent years.
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Student Population A high concentration of students in private rented accommodation mainly within a small geographic area of Loughborough has a significant impact on the property market and availability of traditional first time buyer properties within the location. Joint initiatives between the Council and Loughborough University are being considered to address this issue (Chapter 3).
• Housing Costs and Income
Owner Occupation The increase in average prices has a direct and significant impact on the income requirement to access owner occupation. An income of around £20,4000 is needed to buy a one bedroom flat in Shepshed (the cheapest entry-level price within the Borough), rising to £23,950 in the Leicester Fringe. A two bedroom flat requires an income of £23,700 in Shepshed (cheapest entry-level price), rising to £34,800 in the rural villages. On average the income needed to access flats and terraced properties have increased by 64% and 49% respectively between 2002 and 2004.
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) concluded an average income at March 2005 of £27,688 for the Borough of Charnwood, a 10.1% increase on the 2003 figure of £25,148, which was the timing of the 2003 Survey. The ASHE data on the spread of individual earnings, important in any area with diverse house prices and markets, shows that for the Borough at April 2004:
• 25% earned less than £15,897 • 50% earned less than £21,922 • 75% earned less than £27,353 and • 90% of people earned less than £42,006.
The increases in house prices over the last three years have excluded a large proportion of ‘first-time buyers’ from the owner occupied market, increasing the need for more affordable housing than would have been the case three years ago when it was a more marginal element of affordable need.
Incomes of Concealed Households The implication of incomes having risen by 10.1% since 2003 directly impacts concealed household’s ability to access the market through owner occupation. Updating the incomes of concealed households from the 2003 Survey shows that 67.7% of concealed households are unable to buy a 1 bed flat in Shepshed and 95.3% cannot afford a 2 bed flat in Loughborough. For 2 bed terraced properties, 87% cannot afford to buy in Shepshed/Leicester Fringe, this rises to 97% of concealed households being unable to afford to buy in Rural Villages. A similar pattern is found when looking at concealed household’s ability to access the market through private rented accommodation.
Rental Income Thresholds The income thresholds for each property type are in a relatively narrow band across the Borough. Based on rent at 25% of gross income a one bed flat in Shepshed requires £15,600 per annum, rising to £19,000 in Leicester Fringe. A two bed flat requires an income of £17,300 in Shepshed. To rent a 2 bed terraced house would require an annual income of £18,000 in Loughborough rising to £21,600 in the Rural Villages. Flats are a small proportion of the rented market, only around 9% of stock is in flats and three quarters of them are in the social rented sector. Terraced properties are the main means of access to private rented housing as they also are for purchase.
A similar pattern is found when looking at concealed household’s ability to access the market through private rented accommodation. 59.6% of concealed households in Loughborough cannot rent a 1 bed flat in Shepshed (lowest entry-level) and 76.8% cannot rent a 2 bed flat in Loughborough. In Loughborough 64% cannot afford to rent a 2 bed terraced property, rising to 72% in the Rural Villages:
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• Population Growth and Household Formation Projections
Population Change in Charnwood Borough 2001- 2016 Based on the 2001 census there are 153,462 people living within Charnwood, which is an 8.2% increase in population since 1991. The population is projected to increase by 6,200 people, 4% over the 15 years to 2016, with the main increase occurring between 2001 and 2006 (2,600; 2.0%).
The 2001 Census showed that 9.7% of the population of the Borough were fulltime students aged 16+, against an average for England and Wales of 5.1%.
The following population estimates are based on Leicestershire County Council projections March 2002 for the period 2001 to 2016.
Population Age Band Forecast, Charnwood Borough 2001 - 2016 2001 2006 2011 2016 Change 0-19 38,800 37,300 34,900 33,600 -5,200 20-29 21,600 21,600 22,900 22,500 +900 30-44 32,900 32,000 28,900 26,300 -6,600 45-64 37,300 40,300 43,100 44,500 +7,200 65+ 23,000 25,000 28,300 33,000 +10,000 Total 153,600 156,200 158,100 159,900 +6,300 % Change +2.0 +1.0 +1.0 +4.1 Percentage change is measured between year bands, not the base population. This is a better representation of the incremental change.
• The 0-19 age range shows a decrease overall (5,200; 13.4%). The largest fall occurs between 2006 and 2011 (2,400; 6.4%)
• The 20-29 age range comprises new households forming and will have implications for future affordable housing need both in the short and longer term. Overall, this age group shows a slight increase (900; 4.2%). A rise is seen between 2006 and 2011 (1,300; 6.0%) with figures falling at 2016
• The 30-44 age group, the main economically active group shows a decrease overall (6,600; 20.1%). The largest decrease occurs between 2011 and 2016 (2,600; 9.0%)
• There is a growth of the population in the 45-64 age group. Over the forecast period up to 2016, there is an increase of 7,200 people (19.3%), with the largest rise occurring between 2001 and 2006 (3,000; 8.0%)
• The most significant feature here is the growth of the population in the over 65 age group with an increase of 10,000 individuals (43.5%) over the forecast period. Numbers rise throughout the forecast period, with a large rise of 4,700 (16.6%) occurring between 2011 and 2016
• The ‘older’ retirement group, those 80 and over grow by 45.8%, 2,700 more people by 2016. This group represents 8,600 people in the area by 2016 who are much more likely to have care and support needs
• Household formation is forecast to rise at almost three times the rate of population increase and this is due to a large increase in single person households through elderly people living longer, separation, divorce and young people forming single person households
• The household size ratios (people per household) reduce from 5.3 per household in 2001 to 2.44 in 2006 and 2.35 in 2011.
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The ageing population is a key issue. This will have an inevitable impact on the need for specialist accommodation and on the demand for adaptations and other assistance for older people remaining in their own homes both for the life of this housing strategy and beyond.
• Housing Needs Assessment Model
Property Type and Tenure In terms of the type of accommodation that is currently available within the Borough there is a greater proportion of houses and bungalows (75.3%) compared to the national average of 54.1%. The supply of terraced properties is 15.7%, below the national average of 25.4%, and flats/maisonettes at 8.5% are below the national average of 19.7% limiting access to the housing market for new households.
Looking at all parts of the housing market and peoples movement between tenures provides the opportunity to deal with local housing pressures. Within the Borough there is a significantly different share between tenures compared to the sub-region, particularly in terms of higher levels of owner occupation (78%) and lower levels of social housing (12%)4. 8% live in private rented and a small proportion in shared ownership/other-tied employment.
Adequacy of the Existing Stock (All Tenures)
• The vast majority of households have access to all the basic amenities, including 94% with full or partial central heating, higher than the national average of 88%. The perception of most residents is that their homes are well maintained and not in need of improvement5;
• Some 90% of households say that their accommodation is adequate for their needs. 10% (5,932 implied6) say that it is inadequate. The largest single issues for those reporting an inadequacy, which could be resolved in-situ, were that the dwelling needed improvement/repairs, 75%. Of those requiring a move 72% (2,765 implied) indicated that the dwelling was too small.
• Based on a calculation of occupants to bedroom numbers, under-occupation affects approximately 14% of all households and over-occupation affects almost 2%.
Affordable Housing Needs Requirement The following table produced by David Couttie Associates (DCA) as part of the HNS Update, seeks to quantify the current affordable housing needs in Charnwood:
Backlog of Existing Housing Need: 2005 • Households living in unsuitable housing in the Borough who need to move and who would not be able to have their need resolved in situ or release an 701 affordable unit as a result of a move; • Plus priority homeless in temporary accommodation; 80 • % of ODPM recommended quota to eliminate backlog over a five year period. (20%) • Total Net Annual Need 156
• Newly Arising Need: • Concealed households forming in the next year not on the housing waiting, 322 but unable to buy or rent; • Plus ex-institutional population moving into the community per annum; 28
4 2001 Census, ONS, Crown Copyright. 5 Housing Needs Survey 2003. 6 The ‘implied’ numbers are the HNS (2003) assessment of the total numbers after applying a weighting factor at sub-area level, linking the total population of the ward to the responses received.
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• Plus Housing register new applications (2003-4); and 428 • In-migrant households. 79 • Total Newly Arising Need 857
• Supply of Affordable Units: • Existing social relets (RSL & LA (Local Authority)); 748 • Less increased vacancies and Right to Buy 14 Annual Need to Reduce Backlog 156 Newly Arising Need 857 Total Affordable Need Per Annum 1,013 Less Existing Affordable Supply 734 Overall Annual Shortfall 279
DCA estimate the overall affordable housing shortfall at 279 units a year. Resources for new affordable housing are limited and, despite the Council’s own financial commitment and its endeavours to maximise provision through the planning gain process and Housing Corporation grant, the number of affordable homes is unlikely to match the level of need. This is particularly true when the existing stock of affordable homes is being eroded as Council tenants exercise their ‘Right to Buy’. The Council’s current target is to ‘enable’ 140 new affordable homes in 2005/6 and 90 new affordable homes in each subsequent year. This leaves a shortfall of around 189 units per year based on the above model.
There is a vigorous local property market, with properties across all tenures generally being in high demand. Borough house prices are higher than average in both Leicestershire and the East Midlands. Loughborough University continues to be a popular choice for many students and, as such, there is a high demand for student housing across the town, which continues to keep prices high, affecting availability and choice in certain locations.
The two most important issues in terms of housing supply are the problem of affordability and the level of ‘concealed’ households living within an existing household, the vast majority of whom are not recorded on a register of housing need. The house price and income study shows that 60% of these ‘concealed’ households are not able to afford the cheapest available housing in the Borough7
• Key Issues for our Housing Strategy in Charnwood
• The most significant feature in terms of population change is the growth in the population of the over 65-age group (Chapter 4)
• The ‘older’ retirement group, those 80 and over grows by 46% to 2016. This group represents 8,600 people in the area by 2016 who are much more likely to have care and support needs which should now be assessed (Chapter 4)
• There is an annual affordable housing shortfall of 279 units a year. These units will need to come from new sites, conversions and market purchase by RSLs to reduce the shortfall figure each year (Chapter 3)
• Essential planning should be provided for balanced communities which acknowledge the need for social compatibility (Chapter 3)
• Access to the housing market has become more difficult for new households than it was in 2002, increasing the need for subsidised housing (Chapter 3)
• The overall affordable housing target should be 30% with around a third of provision (10%), as low cost market housing, provided it is delivered at a cost below the cheapest
7 Housing Needs Survey 2003
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entry level costs in the general market and would be available on a similar basis to subsequent purchasers (Chapter 3)
• Both the affordable housing target and the tenure balance within it may vary on a site- by-site basis (Chapter 3)
• An estimated 1000 houses are currently let to students, predominately within Loughborough (Chapter 3).
• Developing our Understanding of the Housing Market
We have undertaken considerable work in the last year to develop our understanding of the housing market. The complete HNS (Desktop Update) and HMA will be available on www.charnwood.gov.uk
Our assessment and understanding of the housing market must be a continuous process. In order to make this happen we will:
• Continue to work with Leicestershire County Council in the development and distribution of statistical information; • Undertake annual assessments/reviews of local Housing Needs information; • Work closely with the Three Cities Sub-regional Group to undertake regular assessments/reviews of local/Sub-regional Housing Markets; • Leicester Shire Intelligence (http://www.lsint.info) and Leicester Shire Online Research Atlas (http://www.lsora.org) have been set up as portal web sites to share reports and statistics across the whole county. These will include data on housing, deprivation indices, benefits and take-up. As a result the Council has started a process of producing data in an accessible format for communities at a neighbourhood level. This will be used as a basis for consultation with communities. • Explore the benefits of using Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
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Chapter 3 Managing the Housing Market:
• Chapter Outline
Having described the main features of Charnwood’s housing market and identified the key issues which need to be addressed, it is essential the Council has plans and actions in place to influence the market.
Successfully managing the housing market will make a significant contribution to the Council’s vision for housing. This will have a major impact on the renewal and sustainability of its communities, neighbourhoods and on the delivery of the strategies and plans of its partners.
This chapter will:
• describe how the Council will manage the housing markets in Charnwood • detail its plans for diversifying the housing market • describe how this strategy contributes to and supports the wider strategies and plans that will help achieve sustainability for all its communities • explain how the Council will provide a choice of homes and especially a choice of affordable homes • detail plans to improve housing services and how it intends to meet Decent Homes Standards for Private, Council and Registered Social Landlord owned homes • show how the Council intends to support homeowners and landlords and • explain how this strategy to manage student housing provision could release properties currently occupied by students.
• Objective 1 - Enabling Regeneration and Affordable Homes
• Aim 1 - Creating Sustainable Communities • Aim 2 - Balanced Housing Markets • Aim 3 - Delivering Affordable Housing
• Aim 1 - Creating Sustainable Communities
Introduction In 2003 the ODPM published the Sustainable Communities Plan. Its aim is to achieve decent homes in decent surroundings and neighbourhoods across the country and so aims to tackle low demand and abandonment in the North, whilst identifying the need for growth in the South to tackle housing shortages and sustain economic development. Because of this polarisation of emphasis and resources Charnwood, situated in the heart of the Midlands, will need to ensure it achieves the aims of the Sustainable Communities Plan without significant extra resources.
Issues facing the Borough:
• ensure housing services meet the needs and requirements of local people regardless of urban/rural locations • understanding the needs of BME communities • continued demand for homeless services • large concentrations of student population in areas of Loughborough • protecting the local environment • perceptions of declining neighbourhoods, fear of crime • improving community engagement
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Charnwood LSPs are at the heart of the Government’s Sustainable Communities agenda. The CSP, which includes the Council, is committed through the Charnwood Community Strategy to achieve sustainability for all our communities and neighbourhoods, and to achieve the Government’s aim of ensuring that in 10- 20 years no one should be seriously disadvantaged because of where they live.
The Community Strategy is being reviewed in 2005 but it will continue to be the key document setting out agreed aims, priorities and actions for Charnwood. All public, private and voluntary sector partners will organise their budgets and resources to tackle the priorities set out in the plan in a co- ordinated and focused way. The Housing Strategy is key to the success of this and other plans and strategies, in working towards sustainable improvements for the local community. In particular, the housing strategy will help to deliver the following key actions set out in the Community Strategy:
Community Strategy Priorities Housing Strategy Aims • Further strengthen the way that agencies • Aim 8: Tackling work together to tackle homelessness in Homelessness Charnwood • Contribute to an investigation of the impact • Aim 1: Creating Sustainable of student housing in Loughborough and Communities devise a strategy for its management in the • Aim 4: Providing Decent long term Homes • Produce a strategy to meet the housing • Aim 1: Creating Sustainable requirements of BME communities Communities • Support the development of the Sure Start • Aim 9: Supporting programme in Charnwood Vulnerable People • Help to provide “warmer and more energy • Aim 5: Promoting efficient homes”, thereby improving the Affordable Warmth health of local residents (including reducing winter deaths) and protecting the local environment (reducing CO2 levels) • Environmental impacts to residential areas – • Aim 1: Creating Sustainable use expertise of the partners to generate Communities suggestions for improving the residential environment and help to lever in additional funding and assistance • Develop interventions to address housing • Aim 1: Creating Sustainable issues in rural locations Communities • Support co-ordinated activity to deal with • Aim 7: Protecting the anti-social behaviour Community • Achieve a mix and balance of housing types, • Aim 1: Creating Sustainable both public and private, in response to the Communities varying needs, demands and requirements of • Aim 2: Balanced Housing local people Markets • Work to bring empty homes back into use • Aim 2: Balanced Housing Markets • Aim 4: Providing Decent Homes
Climate Change Strategy The Council has adopted a Climate Change Strategy to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Households are one of the most significant contributors to increased levels of greenhouse gases in Charnwood, predominantly through space heating. The levels of these gases can be greatly reduced through improved insulation and better quality housing. The aims of the Climate Change Strategy support the work towards the Decent Homes Standard and making affordable warmth accessible to every household.
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The emphasis will now be on putting policy into practice. The adoption of the Climate Change Strategy will closely tie in with the ‘wider objectives’ contained within this Housing Strategy and will be built into our future planning of work.
Local Plan Securing sustainable development is at the heart of the strategy of the Local Plan and the emerging LDF. The strategy seeks to maximise Brownfield development potential and focuses necessary greenfield development on two strategic sites south of Loughborough and north of Birstall. This approach presents a sustainable solution to meeting the Borough’s development needs which facilitates the delivery of more effective and viable public transport services along the A6 corridor between Loughborough and Leicester to the advantage of the wider travelling public.
Loughborough Town Centre Strategic Master Plan We are considering a number of options that will help shape our priorities and plans for the Borough to ensure thriving, sustainable and inclusive communities. The Loughborough Town Centre Strategic Master plan is an example of involving communities and local stakeholders in developing a vision for their neighbourhood, assessing options, and agreeing priorities and plans to ensure the creation of balanced communities and student integration. It will also form the basis of our Statement of Community Involvement required under the new planning framework.
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • Research rural Issues: balancing needs, • Action 1 affordable housing, retaining village character, integrate new population within existing • Provide affordable homes • Action 2 • Consider student impact on housing market • Action 3 in Loughborough
• Aim 2 - Balanced Housing Markets
Introduction To understand local housing markets it is important to look at all sectors as a whole rather than concentrating on “affordable housing.” Looking at all parts of the housing market and how people interact and move between tenures and boundaries may provide opportunities to deal with local housing pressures that might otherwise be missed. There are opportunities to assist people to access and maintain accommodation in the Private Sector within the Borough and Low Cost Home Ownership Schemes, such as Homebuy or Shared Ownership are becoming increasingly popular.
Issues facing the Borough:
• an increasing elderly population with particular housing needs • certain areas within the Borough suffer from higher levels of deprivation8 • changes in age profiles which could impact on the economic environment. The main economically active age group (30-44) shows a significant decrease up to 2016 • changes in housing demand • urban flight issues from the three cities and beyond • stock imbalance in supply and demand
In February 2004 the Housing Market Assessment (HMA) Manual was published. This manual reiterated the importance that all Councils need to have a better understanding of their local housing markets and how they operate at a sub-regional level.
There are a few Boroughs that are self-contained housing markets, hence, a large number of Councils will need to collaborate to define the housing market area. This is an action that has been identified
8 2004 Indices of Deprivation
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within the East Midlands Sub-regional Action Plan which the Council will be participating in (Chapter 1). However, in order to inform the development of this strategy, the Council has recently undertaken an HMA of the ‘local’ housing market incorporating the following Councils in Leicestershire: Charnwood, Leicester, Harborough, Blaby, Oadby & Wigston, Hinckley & Bosworth, Melton and North West Leicestershire; and also the adjoining Borough of Rushcliffe which is located in Nottinghamshire to gain. This information will be used to feed into the larger HMA to be undertaken at a later date.
Further analysis of the data is required to identify locations where a shortfall/surplus of affordable stock is needed, however, initial findings are detailed below:
Demographic Change There have been significant changes in household formation over the last decade which result in much higher household numbers compared to population growth and average household size. There is a large increase in single person households through elderly people living longer, separation and divorce and young people forming single person households.
The data in relation to household formation is extremely important as those households requiring smaller units are those which are growing most significantly. It is evident from the HNS (2005) that around 80% of new forming households are looking to occupy one or two bedroom units, which represent only 30% of the housing stock. The impact of the stock imbalance is to create further difficulty for new forming households attempting to access the housing market in Charnwood.
Further analysis of the stock imbalance will need to be carried out to address the shortfall of smaller affordable houses and modern flats. However, despite the scale of future demand it is not sustainable or deliverable in market terms to build all new stock in one or two sectors of the market. There is a need, for new low cost market housing to meet these needs. As part of this provision, the Council will need to encourage sustainable development using a wider ‘neighbourhood’ approach to stock mix, principally, using existing service provision, schools, shops, medical services etc as a boundary basis.
Migration Patterns The HNS (2003) indicated there were a number of reasons for the inward and outward migration patterns affecting the Borough. These are important in terms of identifying trends and the impact this will have on the market balance.
Out-migration patterns from Charnwood revealed that the vast majority (48%) of those migrating out of the Borough moved to Leicester. Smaller numbers relocated to neighbouring district Councils both within the County and in Nottinghamshire. Employment/access to work, family and better shops/leisure facilities were the most significant reasons for movement out of the Borough for existing households. For concealed households moving away, choices were focused, as might be expected, mainly on better employment and education facilities.
In-migration patterns indicated the largest proportion of people migrating to the Borough were from Leicester (43%) as expected, and again the other district in the County were the source for incomers. A review of the data from the HNS (2003) of those people who had migrated to Charnwood from elsewhere shows that the most important reasons for moving to the Borough were that they wanted to buy, to be nearer to relatives, and for retirement reasons.
In-migration patterns closely mirror those shown in out-migration, and clearly demonstrate that the housing market within Charnwood is greatly influenced by activity at the sub, sub-regional level. The emphasis on strategic working at this level is therefore wholly appropriate to assist with meeting housing needs within the Borough.
Keyworkers Research was undertaken by the Council during 2004 to assess the needs for a keyworker strategy in Charnwood. The purpose of the report was to consider whether, given recent house price inflation,
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the cost of accommodation in Charnwood is such as to deter key workers from moving to or remaining in the Borough and, if so, what options are available to address the problem.
The research concluded that at present there is no significant evidence of key workers suffering particular hardship in Charnwood or indeed vacancies arising in “key” professions directly as a result of house prices within the Borough. As a result, there is no justification in diverting resources at present from elsewhere towards this group. In fact there is evidence to suggest that within the region the majority of “key” workers earn above the regional average salary and are in a stronger position in the housing market than other workers in the region9.
Future Actions • Where appropriate affordable housing is available the Council should ensure that key workers have access to the relevant information about such schemes, as they are ideal candidates for shared ownership and shared equity schemes. Given the levels of knowledge of shared ownership and shared equity amongst these groups it may be that simply promoting such schemes successfully will go some way to addressing the issue of key worker housing. • When data was gathered for this research there was is no evidence for key worker specific initiatives developed by the Council. However, it is recommended that links be made with appropriate officers within Health, Education and the Police Force to continue to monitor the situation as the housing and employment market changes.
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • Closer consideration of the type and size • Action 4 of housing provided locally • Provision for an ageing population • Action 5 • Key Worker provision • Action 6
• Aim 3 - Delivering Affordable Housing
Introduction There are three main ways of providing new affordable housing:
• Social housing schemes funded by the Housing Corporation; • Section 106 planning gain housing; • Schemes funded with assistance from the Council’s enabling grant.
The Council aims to ensure that the right type of affordable housing is provided in the right places to meet the needs of the Borough.
Issues facing the Borough:
• the Borough needs 470 new dwellings per annum between 1996 and 2016 to meet the County Structure Plan requirements10 • 279 new homes need to be available each year for people who cannot afford to obtain suitable accommodation in the open market • In recent years, residential property prices have risen much more rapidly than local incomes; • price rises have been particularly steep for the smaller properties which usually give access to the market for ‘first time buyers’ • public funding for affordable housing in Charnwood is limited due to regional allocations • the opportunity to obtain affordable housing from planning gain agreements is constrained by the number and size of sites coming forward for development and by
9 Can Work Can’t Buy, Steve Wilcox, revised edition May 2003 Joseph Rowntree Foundation 10 Charnwood Borough Council Adopted Structure Plan
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nature of those developments • there is a steady loss of existing affordable homes as Council tenants exercise their ‘Right to Buy’ • the large number of students in Loughborough places additional pressure on accommodation in the town
The Housing and Planning System A greater choice of housing will be delivered through the closer integration of housing and planning strategies.
The Council’s housing and planning teams have worked closely together on the following projects:
• Joint working on the preparation of affordable housing policies contained in the adopted Borough of Charnwood Local Plan; • Negotiation of affordable housing provision in association with planning applications on allocated and windfall housing sites. • Supporting the drafting of a SPD to provide further guidance on the provision of affordable housing in accordance with adopted Local Plan policies.
Planning for Diversity and Choice in our Housing Market The Borough of Charnwood Local Plan provides for a variety of housing sites capable of accommodating a range and mix of housing types and tenures to meet the Borough’s housing needs in accordance with PPG3. Sites range from apartment developments on urban infill sites to developments in rural settlements to secure much needed affordable housing. By securing appropriate contributions through Section 106 agreements the strategy has supported the development of amenities that contribute to successful and attractive neighbourhoods including high quality open spaces, health and education facilities, balancing the allocation of sites for housing with economic and employment opportunity.
More recently, the Council has published a draft SPD outlining options to address the impact of the concentration of student rented accommodation on the housing market in Loughborough. Supplementary guidance has also been published to guide the refurbishment and redevelopment of part of the University Campus, which will include provision for additional managed student bedspaces. This forms part of a wider proposal by the University to provide a further 2,500 bedspaces on Campus.
Plans for Affordable Housing In the light of the needs already described, the Council is putting in place plans to maximise the amount of new affordable housing which is provided in the Borough from the resources available. The Council is also keen to tailor this new provision to the identified needs in terms of tenure, size, type and location.
• Housing Corporation Grant The Council seeks to maintain a constructive relationship with the Housing Corporation and with its 12 ‘Preferred Partner’ RSLs. There is frequent contact with the Corporation and with those RSLs wishing to develop in the Borough. Recognising the increasingly competitive environment in which RSLs work, the Council intends, in 2005, to intensify its relationship with a small number of the Preferred Partners through a Development Group.
The Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programme for 2004-06 allocated £5.7 million to schemes in Charnwood. These are expected to produce 143 new affordable homes, 83 of these being for rent. In preparation for the 2006-08 Programme, the Council is already in discussion with the Corporation and Preferred Partners about a variety of potential schemes.
Once RSL developments are complete, the Council maintains its interest through Service Level Agreements which cover the standards of management of the homes, and through the nominations agreements which are negotiated during the development process. RSL performance is monitored regularly through the RSL liaison forum.
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• Planning Gain The SPD on Affordable Housing is a key part of the Council’s plans for planning gain agreements to produce more affordable housing. A draft SPD is currently out for consultation. The Council expects to adopt a final version before the autumn of 2005. The draft increases the target for affordable housing on eligible sites from 15% to 30%. It also clarifies the Council’s expectations about funding, tenure mix, design, long-term management and Section 106 agreement conditions. In effect, the SPD should strengthen the Council’s negotiating position with developers. However, the success of these actions is dependent on the amount and type of residential development undertaken. Indications at present suggest that the level of development is likely to be lower than it has been in recent years.
Negotiations in 2004/05 were conducted under the existing Local Plan Framework and its target of 15% affordable provision on all sites above the threshold. 11 planning gain agreements were concluded during the year; enabling the provision of 123 affordable homes.
• Council’s Enabling Grant The Council is currently providing almost £1.5 million of Enabling Grant to four schemes, which will produce 34 affordable homes for rent. One scheme will provide 6 new bungalows, including one with special disability features, on a former garage site in Loughborough. Another will replace 8 Pre- reinforced concrete (PRC) flats at Anstey with 8 new houses. Further schemes are being developed for future programmes. These include additional garage sites where developments will offer environmental improvements as well as affordable housing. Negotiations are also underway with an RSL Partner and the Parish Council in Quorn, a village where the need for affordable housing greatly exceeds supply, to build new affordable homes.
Other key plans include:
• to share policy development and good practice on affordable housing through the Leicestershire Development and Strategy Officer Group, the Development Plans Forum and Development Control Officers Forum, and the County Housebuilders Forum where planning issues are discussed with representative of the local house building industry;
• to research and develop a BME Strategy to identify and prioritise affordable housing provision for existing and new ethnic and faith based communities and the supported housing needs of vulnerable people and groups.
Affordable Housing Targets Through the combination of sources available, the Council’s targets for the provision of new affordable homes in the Borough are as follows –
Year Target No of New Affordable Homes 2005/06 140 2006/07 90 2007/08 90 2008/09 90 2009/10 90 Total for strategy 500
The targets are based on past performance, reviewed in the light of existing plans and likely trends. Actual performance depends on a great many decisions taken by a variety of different ‘players’. Individual developers, and potential developers, have a major role, as do individual RSL’s. The Housing Corporation’s approach is crucial and both Planning and Housing aspects of the Council are involved. All players operate in the context of the property market and within the framework of legislation and policy determined by national Government. The position is constantly changing.
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Many decisions are outside the Council’s direct control and its role is primarily as an enabler, seeking to encourage and cajole developers and RSL’s to provide the affordable homes which are needed. The Council’s influence is strongest in deciding how to use its own Enabling Grant. It is also involved directly in negotiating planning gain agreements with developers; the SPD on Affordable Housing, currently out for consultation, will help to strengthen the Council’s position in these negotiations. However, many other decisions about affordable housing are made without direct Council involvement. In these instances, the Council can only build good relationships with the other players and hope to exert an influence indirectly.
The Council is confident about its current targets and will work, where possible, to exceed them. However, the gap between these targets and the annual need for 279 new affordable dwellings, identified by DCA, is large. A shortfall in provision is almost inevitable. The Council is committed to maximising the number of new affordable homes in the Borough but, in present circumstances, does not expect to be able to eliminate the predicted shortfall within the life of this Strategy. The complexities of the housing market, and the direct influence of national and regional priorities will further restrict the opportunities to bridge this gap.
Rural Housing Charnwood includes 25 settlements with populations of less than 3,000. Here the supply of property is very limited and prices are often high. These settlements present particular problems and opportunities. At a policy level, the Council seeks to set up mechanisms that will enable affordable housing to be provided in appropriate cases. At a detailed level, the Council tries to establish the position in individual settlements and to work with others to meet any needs which are identified. Elements within the Council’s approach are as follows:
• where appropriate, the Local Plan allocates land for residential development in villages and these allocations include an affordable element. New affordable homes are expected in Wymeswold and Burton-on-the-Wolds using this approach • If ‘windfall’ developments arise (which are above the threshold size), the Council negotiates the inclusion of affordable housing. For example, an agreement has been signed recently for a site in East Goscote • the draft SPD seeks to reduce the threshold in rural areas so that all future developments of 5 or more dwellings will require an affordable element • the Local Plan provides for the declaration of ‘exception’ sites for affordable housing in rural areas • the Council grant aids the Leicestershire Rural Housing Enabler (LRHE) project and is represented on its Steering Group • the Council sponsors Village Housing Need Surveys in conjunction with Parish Councils. A report was published for Wymeswold in 2004. As a result of direct involvement of Parish Councils, reports for Woodhouse and Burton-on-the –Wolds are expected in 2005. A continuing programme of Surveys is planned
The Council is committed to working with Parish Councils, the LRHE and RSLs to follow up any needs identified in the Surveys.
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • More flexibility in housing provision • Action 7 • Increase affordable housing targets on • Action 8 new developments to 30% • More specialists housing • Action 9
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Objective 2 - Providing Decent Homes in all Tenures
• Aim 4 – Providing Decent Homes • Aim 5 – Promoting Affordable Warmth
• Aim 4 - Providing Decent Homes
Introduction The Decent Homes Standard was introduced by the Government in July 2000, to "ensure that all social housing meets set standards by 2010,” This standard was extended in the 2002 Spending Review to include the private sector although specific targets were not announced until February 2004. The targets for private housing are that 65% of vulnerable households should live in decent accommodation by 2006 and 70% by 2010.
The Council has completed a SOA to ensure it will meet the decent homes standard for its own stock within the timescale. The Council and tenants have concluded that setting up an ALMO will provide the best route for reaching the social housing standard.
The ODPM has calculated prevalence rates for the proportion of vulnerable households living in non decent accommodation. In Charnwood the rate is estimated at 60.5%. The current House Condition Survey will confirm the base level and help identify priorities.
Issues facing the Borough in the Social Sector:
• The largest proportion of council owned homes are found in Loughborough Shelthorpe Ward (25.1% of all homes) and Loughborough Hastings (23.6%). The smallest proportion 0.2% is found in Nanpantan11 • 37% of council owned homes are non-decent (date 2004) • The investment required to meet and maintain decent homes until 2010 is £32 million. The Authority is currently preparing an ALMO bid to ensure that the decent homes standard is met on time. • The Borough has 15 RSL’s which have provided 2089 homes12 • Nationally 21% of RSL owned homes were estimated to be non-decent (Summer 2004)
Meeting the Decent Homes Standard for Council Owned Homes Meeting the Decent Homes Standard for council owned homes by 2010 is a key priority for this strategy. As a national floor target the LSP now monitor progress towards the achievement of Decent Homes.
Stock Options Appraisal and Progress to Date The SOA has followed a detailed Project Plan agreed with the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM) and the Community Task Force (CHTF):
• completion of a stock condition survey • established the Stock Options Appraisal Steering Group (SOASG) comprising of tenants leaseholders, elected members, trade unions and staff to oversee the appraisal process • appointed TPAS as the independent tenant advisors and • set aside significant resources to fund and complete the review process
The Council has recommended an ALMO and it has an accurate picture of the investment needs of its homes. A summary of the investment required achieving and maintaining the Decent Homes Standard is available in the HRA Business Plan at www.charnwood.gov.uk
11 2001 Census 12 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 2004
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Current Investment in Council Homes The Investment Strategy for council owned homes is currently being developed, to reduce non- decency within the stock. The 2004/05 Public Sector Capital Programme brought 127 council homes up to the Decent Homes Standard and reduced the level of non-decency from 39% to 37%.
A further £3m will be invested in council homes during 2005/06 bringing a minimum of 300 homes up to the Decent Homes Standard. A similar level of investment is planned for 2006/07 of £3m The Public Sector Capital Programme will continue to reduce non-decency in sustainable council homes.
A Procurement Strategy is being planned to enter into a partnership with contractors and suppliers to deliver decent homes by 2010. A contract with Contract & Public Services (CPS) and other partners is ongoing and will be reviewed, now that the decision to select the ALMO option has been made. The procurement process will take into account the requirements of the Gershon efficiency agenda and the need to seek Best Value through successful partnering arrangements.
Meeting the Decent Homes Standard for RSL Owned Homes RSL’s contribute good quality homes and services to residents in Charnwood. They are also required to meet the Decent Homes standard for their own stock. RSL’s are subject to a detailed regulatory framework laid down by the Housing Corporation and have for many years, been required to make financial provision for the future repair and improvement of their stock. All RSLs who have stock within the Borough have confirmed that current levels of non-decency are minimal. For those RSLs who have identified stock that may require work to meet the 2010 Decent Homes Standard plans have been put in place to achieve this.
The RSL Liaison Group made up of Council officers and RSL’s with stock in the Borough, will monitor progress in achieving the Decent Homes Standard, share best practice on the management and maintenance of social housing, examine how RSL investment in their homes can complement wider regeneration investment and plans.
Delivering Quality Housing Services Managing our housing market successfully also requires plans and actions to develop and improve the quality and choice of housing services to meet the current and future needs of customers and communities. The delivery of quality housing services will have a significant influence on creating and maintaining sustainable communities and upon wider successful neighbourhood management, including securing a qualifying inspection rating to enable the Council to secure additional resources via the ALMO route.
During the period of this strategy, the Council will develop options and proposals covering the following priority services areas:
• Choice Based Lettings The Council currently has Local Lettings Policies in place on a number of estates within the Borough. We are also currently reviewing the Council’s Allocations Policy with a view to introducing a Choice Based Lettings Scheme for the allocation of all social housing in the Borough. An initial report will be presented to Cabinet in October 2005 with a view to meeting the Government’s 2010 target.
• Anti-social Behaviour The Council in partnership with Leicestershire Police facilitates an Anti-Social Behaviour Steering Group. The group addresses issues at a local level. The monthly meetings allow information sharing and allow the formation of working groups to address particular issues. The group has now been extended and RSL partners are becoming more involved.
• Housing Advice The Council discharges its statutory housing advice function in partnership with the Bridge Housing Advice Centre. The Council provides £91,000 funding per year and a Service Level Agreement has been negotiated. The Bridge Housing Advice Service has the Legal Services Commission Quality Mark for its casework.
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• Services for BME and Faith Groups The Council is committed to ensuring that services are accessible for all members of the community.
The Council commissioned a BME HNS in 2002, however, due to limitations in the sample size a far larger and more representative survey will be undertaken during the lifetime of this strategy.
The Housing Department along with all other departments in the Council have produced an Equalities Action Plan to ensure that services are accessible and appropriate to BME and faith groups.
The Council part funds the Charnwood Racial Equality Council (CREC) who provide advice and information about racial discrimination and equal opportunities. The CREC are also part of the Ekota Project that provides advice and information on a range of issues including Housing for the Bangladeshi community.
There are eight Supporting People funded housing support services that are able to signpost service users to appropriate community and faith groups where appropriate covering a range of client groups including homeless families, older people and families and individuals with general support needs.
Improving the Quality of Services to Tenants and Leaseholders of Council Owned Homes The Council aims to achieve an improved two star housing service by the next Audit Commission inspection in January 2006. Key plans have been agreed and adopted to achieve this aim:
• a Service Delivery Plan 2005-6 confirming performance targets for the day to day management of council homes and including the achievement of the Decent Homes targets and • an action plan to address specific issues raised by the Audit Commission during the CPA inspection in May 2004
Tenant Participation The Council has promoted tenant participation in decision-making. It has also identified a number of priority areas for action for developing tenant management and participation, and the recently revised Tenant Compact has just been launched. Further details can be found in the Consultation Chapter of the HRA Business Plan.
CCLATA is the umbrella Group under which the Borough’s localised tenants and residents association sits. CCLATA are a key partnership organisation in relation to the Council’s landlord function but are also increasingly being involved in the Councils wider strategic role.
Disabled Adaptations The Housing Department employs its own Specialist Occupational Therapist to provide a disability and adaptation service to Council tenants and potential applicants to enable elderly and people with disability to be sustained in the community for longer. The service works in close partnership with the Leicestershire County Council to provide carefully planned adaptations alongside tailored care packages. The service also maintains a disability database which enables existing adapted properties to be allocated more appropriately making more efficient use of properties and in meeting the longer- term needs of residents.
The Council also contributes to the Leicestershire Joint Adaptations Group established in 2001. The Specialist Occupational Therapist service has been cited an example of good practice nationally and received the Department of Health ‘Runner Up’ Social Care Award (2000) for cross boundary working.
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Issues facing the Borough in the Private Sector:
• Identifying non decent homes occupied by vulnerable people • raising awareness of non decency issues • developing strategies to encourage owners to meet decent homes standard • reduce the number of empty homes • high demand for smaller properties • impact of student housing in Loughborough
Private Sector Housing Strategy The Council’s strategies for supporting the Private Sector are contained in the Private Sector Housing Assistance Policy adopted in April 2004 and involve several themes. A House Condition Survey is due to report in late 2005, and as a result of the findings the current policies may be revised, although it is intended to run until April 2009. The Policy is under regular review and was modified this year to allow Renovation Grants to be paid in some additional circumstances outside the Priority Areas and to align Home Repair Assistance more closely with the definition of “vulnerable”.
The strategy has three distinct goals:
• To address physical improvements to dwellings The first thrust of the policy is to address areas of housing known to include both high levels of unfitness and high levels of multiple deprivation. The areas identified (Priority Areas) include all of Lemyngton and Hastings Wards in Loughborough. These areas also include the highest proportions of pre 1919 stock, the largest BME populations 23.4% and 22.7% and a large proportion of First Time buyers’ properties. Properties in this area are eligible for Renovation Grants (subject to qualifying criteria) and offer assistance intended to deal with unfitness and non-decency. Renovation grants are not cash limited but are means tested and must be repaid if the house is sold within ten years.
• To offer assistance to those individuals most in need and who have fewest choices in relation to their accommodation The second thrust recognises that there are properties outside the priority areas which have urgent repair issues, which the householder may be unable to afford. In these circumstances, vulnerable people may obtain assistance with essential repairs, which will deal with identified risks.
• To target specific issues where individuals might be at risk Elderly people or those with children at home and in receipt of means tested benefits or people in receipt of specified disability benefits qualify for a range of Home Repair Assistance to help deal with specific risk related housing defects.
Only one grant is allowed in each category within a five-year period. The categories are:
• Wind Weatherproof and Safe (Maximum £1500) • Essential Services (Max £2000) • Minor Adaptation (not for work eligible under Disabled Facilities Grant but including repair to previous adaptations (Max £1000) • Central Heating (a means tested grant for those not eligible for Warmfront)
Private Sector Assistance Given: Year Number of properties Value (£000) 2003/4 111 367 2004/5 52 87 2005/6 80 250
In addition to the three main strands of the private sector strategy, there are a number of complementary initiatives targeted at specific issues:
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Disabled Facilities Grants DFGs to enable people to continue to live in their own homes are the only remaining statutory grants. Demand is high reflecting the increasing age of the population. The budget for this is continuously under severe pressure. As a result we have been unable to pay any discretionary grants under this heading for several years although it is hoped this may be possible in the future. We have been involved in a joint exercise with Social Services and the other District Councils in Leicestershire to achieve uniformity of service standards to deliver adaptations. The report identifies changes to working methods and service delivery targets.
Discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants paid Year Number Value (£000) 2003/4 93 452 2004/5 90 422 2005/6 90 400
Access to Assistance The Council is currently in discussion with Home Improvement Agencies (HIA) in the area with a view to making their services available to residents. This is subject to suitable financial support being available. The main provider of such support, Supporting People, has indicated that no bids can be considered for the time being so alternative funding will be required. It is planned to have access to a HIA within three years.
Leicestershire Safe at Home Scheme The Council introduced a Handy Van scheme in 2004 through the Charnwood Community Safety Partnership in partnership with Help the Aged, North West Leicester District Council and Care and Repair (West Leicestershire Ltd) to provide security measures for the over 60’s. During 2004/5 171 installations have been carried out.
Dealing with Unfitness Unfitness is tackled mainly in the Private Rented Sector under the Housing Acts and has been reported on annually as part of the National Best Value Performance Indicator (BVPI) 62 where we have performed consistently within the top quartile. Currently there are 2159 unfit properties in the private sector, and it is estimated that 28%13 are contained within the priority areas identified above.
Empty Homes The Council takes a proactive approach to dealing with Empty Homes. As part of the Empty Homes Procedure the Housing Standards Team:
• Identifies all properties vacant for over 6 months • contacts all owners of properties vacant over 2 years • obtains information on the reason for the vacancy • offers advice to encourage re-occupation where appropriate • takes action where necessary to address unfitness
The long-term vacancy rate of properties in Charnwood is lower than the national average of 3.6%. This is partly as a consequence of the area being relatively prosperous and the high demand for properties, particularly in Loughborough where there is a large demand for student accommodation.
Date Number of Long Term % of Private Stock Vacant (excluding RSL) April 2003 1084 1.96 April 2004 851 1.54 April 2005 847 1.53
13 1999 House Condition Survey
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During 2004/05 35 properties were returned to use following intervention. The Housing Act 2004 will implement options to make Empty Homes Management Orders.
Caravan Sites Licence conditions are under review for all sites within the Borough. Those for residential sites were completed following consultation in 2004/05; the remainder will be revised during 2005:
Licence Type Number of Sites Licensed Number of Pitches Residential 20 339 Touring 4 100 Holiday 4 419
Student Housing Issues At present there are approximately 5500 students in private rented accommodation mainly within a small geographic area of Loughborough. This has a significant impact by removing over 1000 traditionally first time buyer properties from the market. The high concentration of student properties in a small area also makes the area unattractive for family occupation. Environmental Health Services and Planning Services are jointly working to examine options including the additional licensing of HMOs under the Housing Act 2004 to apply more controls in these areas. A programme of inspections of all HMOs (which will include student properties), along with enforcement of the Management regulations in these properties is likely to be the most practical option, rather than simply just licensable HMOs under the new Housing Act 2004. Proposals from the University to create more bed spaces on campus over the next ten years may increase vacancy rates within this section of the private renting market and this is being closely monitored
Student Housing Accreditation Scheme The Councils’ Private Sector Housing Team worked closely with Loughborough University to establish the Accreditation Scheme for privately rented student properties within Charnwood. As well as ensuring all properties meet the statutory minimum standards, the scheme ensures greater safety standards, both in terms of fire safety and security, as well as improved minimum amenity standards. At present the scheme includes 248 properties.
The scheme is currently being reviewed jointly with the University Accommodation Team, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue, and Leicestershire Constabulary to address changes to legislation in the Housing Act 2004. It is proposed that the inspection procedure for accredited properties (which is currently undertaken by the University) will be jointly undertaken – with the Private Sector Housing Team carrying out property inspections in relation to health, safety and amenity standards and the University concentrating on furniture provision, facilities and décor.
Private Sector Leasing Scheme The Private Sector Housing Team inspects all properties prior to acceptance onto the Council’s PSL Scheme. The scheme enables the Council to lease properties from private landlords, which will then be used as temporary accommodation for homeless families and families threatened with homelessness. This initiative has been funded via the Council’s Homelessness Prevention Fund. However, as the portfolio of properties increases the scheme should become self-financing with the added benefit of generating additional resources to enhance the Homelessness Prevention Fund. The scheme has already been successful in securing 6 properties with negotiations currently underway to secure an additional ten properties. The annual target for 2005/6 is 20 properties.
Decent Homes in the Private Sector The Ready Reckoner provided by the ODPM estimates that there are 2,750 non-decent homes occupied by vulnerable households in Charnwood, which would require the identification and improvement of 300 houses by the end of 2006. When the House Condition Survey reports later this year the Council will be able to confirm the locations of areas where there are properties in this sector and further develop strategies to meet the targets. It is, however, recognised that nationally the most common single reason for failing the standard is that a property fails to provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. Energy efficiency measures are therefore high on the Councils agenda as illustrated below.
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• promoting Energy Efficiency through the Warm Front Scheme • a successful in-house discount scheme and a partnership with British Gas • developing a scheme in partnership with the Primary Care Trust (PCT) to involve their front line staff in identifying residents who would benefit from the above schemes and referring them to relevant schemes • grant aid is being made available to include dealing with non-decency when dealing with unfitness within the priority areas where there are many vulnerable residents • the Private Sector Housing Assistance Policy outside priority Areas is targeted at vulnerable households and will deal with items of serious disrepair where there are risks to the occupiers. This will in many cases also impact on the levels of non-decency
Housing Strategy Priorities (Social & Private Action Plan: Sector): • Achieving the Decent Homes Standard • Action 10 • Improvements which improve lower running • Action 11 costs for tenants • A logical approach to the programming of • Action 12 work to tenants’ homes.
• Aim 5 - Promoting Affordable Warmth
Introduction Fuel poverty is the ‘inability of a household to afford adequate warmth’14. It is due to a combination of low household income, inadequate and expensive forms of heating and poor insulation standards. The Council is committed to the eradication of fuel poverty and the provision of Affordable Warmth for its residents, irrespective of tenure, by 2010. The Council aims to achieve this by:
• raising awareness and providing energy advice • improving energy efficiency within Council owned homes • encouraging and assisting where possible improvements within the Private Sector
Issues facing the Borough:
• An aging housing stock which conformed to lower building regulations and therefore less energy efficient • Unwillingness in private housing landlords to pay up front for energy efficient measures with long payback periods • Lack of up to date information on the Private Sector • Identifying and interacting with vulnerable people
The Council is working towards meeting the Governments key energy efficiency targets through our Energy Action Plan and Affordable Warmth Policy in the following areas to:
• Reduce Fuel Poverty The Government aims to eradicate fuel poverty by 2010. The Council is committed to reduce fuel poverty by achieving at least the minimum levels of thermal comfort required to meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standard in the 6,000 dwellings that form our own housing stock. In addition, Energy efficiency promotion is a main element of the drive for Decent Homes in the private sector.
1. UK Fuel Poverty Strategy 2001. para.1.7
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• Reduce Domestic CO2 Emissions To meet the domestic CO² reduction targets the Council is promoting to all Borough residents the benefits of increased home insulation, low energy lighting and more fuel-efficient central heating boilers including;
• energy efficiency advice to all enquirers
• an upgrade and updating service for all the mediums for giving advice
• advice on the Government Warm Front Scheme, British Gas Keep Warm and Well and Able to Pay Scheme a discounted insulation scheme “Heat Charnwood” in partnership with Enact Energy Management Ltd
To ensure access to schemes, the Council and its partners advertise widely, including mail outs to people identified as eligible from Council records and attend promotional events.
Future Actions
• Instigate HECAMON (Home Energy Conservation Act) monitoring of housing stock to verify current energy efficiency levels
• Initiate a formal partnership with the Charnwood and North West Leicestershire PCT called “Keep Warm & Well”. The scheme will require front line care workers to be trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of individuals living in fuel poverty and refer to the Council to apply for assistance
• Promote and actively encourage the use of renewable energy systems in private sector dwellings. Provide a clear explanation of the technology and how it can be incorporated in to homes. Form links or partnerships with manufacturers and installers to bring discounts under, and in addition to the Governments Clear Skies grants
• Explore the possibility of surveying and issuing SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) energy rating certificates to homeowners. This would potentially provide:
• Income to cover database operating and licensing fees • provide a service, which may tie in with the Home Buyers Report • allow the Council to extend the private sector energy database allowing for more accurate reporting
• Promotion of Welfare Benefits ‘Take Up’ Campaigns – anti-poverty measures.
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • High quality maintenance • Action 13 • Upgrading home insulation • Action 14 • Installing efficient appliances • Action 15
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Chapter 4 Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable People: • Objective 3 Supporting a Healthy Thriving Community
• Chapter Outline
The Council believes that a strong and sustainable community benefits from the inclusion, and responds to the needs of all its members, including those who are vulnerable. It recognises that vulnerability is not necessarily permanent and therefore provides for a range of general needs and specialist support services, regardless of age. It also intends to ensure individuals can access housing to the minimum Decent Homes Standard (PSA 7 - see glossary) to remain independent in housing for as long as possible.
The Council has a range of issues including health, disabilities, lifestyles and social circumstances and it must be responsive to individual needs and choices. It must work in partnership with other service providers on which vulnerable people and groups may depend to ensure our housing strategy is effective.
This Chapter will:
• detail the Council’s plans to meet the needs of vulnerable people and groups in the Borough • present key information of vulnerable people and groups in the Borough and • explain the mechanisms of how it will support independent living, particularly through our Homelessness Strategy and Supporting People Programme
• Aim 6 – Promoting Healthy Housing • Aim 7 – Protecting the Community • Aim 8 – Tackling Homelessness • Aim 9 – Supporting Vulnerable People
• Aim 6 - Promoting Healthy Housing
Introduction Clear links exist between health and housing. Poor Housing can lead to a wide range of physical and mental health problems. As a result actions relating to housing can lead to direct benefits to health. This has the potential to produce significant benefits in the health of individuals and the wider community, and generate savings in public and private expenditure on health, housing and other social services. Improving the physical quality of housing can help to provide warm, safe and healthy homes, which not only prevents health problems, but also can help reduce deaths due to cold, damp and unsafe housing. By increasing security measures it can be possible to increase people’s sense of security and therefore their mental health.
There are a number of client groups where there is a clear need to plan housing provision across a range of disciplines including Health, Social Care, Supporting People and Housing. Such groups include older people with support needs, young parents, people with disabilities and people with drug and alcohol problems.
Issues facing the Borough:
• The growth in the population of the over 65-age group increases by 43.5% 10,000 individuals over the forecast period • The ‘older’ retirement group, those 80 and over, who are much more likely to have care and support needs, grows by 46%, 2,700 more people by 2016
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• 18% of households within the Borough contain somebody with a disability. Of households with a disability, some 28% (1,703) have outstanding support/care needs • There are 13 people in Charnwood with learning difficulties that wish to move now and a further 40 who wish to move later, just under half of these live with their parents and a further quarter in residential accommodation • Lack of specialist supported housing • Insufficient rehabilitation services for people with substance/misuse problems
Health and Housing Risk Assessment Tool The Department of Health has recently produced a “Health Risks and Health Inequalities in Housing: An Assessment Tool.” This takes as its starting point the link between health and housing and expands upon the Health and Safety Rating system, which is the replacement of the traditional fitness standards for housing. In partnership with the local PCT the Council will investigate opportunities for piloting the system to maximise the suitability of housing for households needs.
Health and Well-being The Charnwood Community Safety Partnership is helping to create a safer Borough by promoting good citizenship and reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and disorder. The Council will continue to build on current best practice and seek opportunities to develop the promotion of safety and reduction of crime within the community.
Meeting the Needs of People with Disabilities The delivery of services for residents of Charnwood with disabilities is undertaken from within a joint Housing, Social Services and Health Team of Officers.
In 2004/05, 817 homes across the Borough were adapted to enable people to live independently in their own homes. During this period the Council were able to meet demand for this service. The current target is six weeks from assessment to completion of works and in 2005/06 we aim to achieve four weeks from referral to completion of works.
Meeting the Needs of People with Learning Disabilities The Charnwood Action Group monitors services in Charnwood for people with learning difficulties. The Housing Department facilitates the Charnwood Housing Sub-group to address housing issues affecting people with Learning Disabilities. This group has been formed in response to the key findings of the Leicestershire Learning Disabilities Housing Needs Survey (2005), which identifies the need to increase information and raise awareness on housing issues. The Leicestershire Learning Disability Housing Strategy launched in 2005 provides the strategic framework for future service delivery.
Meeting the Needs of People with Mental Health Issues There are 33 units of accommodation-based support within the Borough and a further 7 of specialist floating support for people with mental health issues as well as a number of generic support services, which can provide lower level support.
The lack of specialist appropriate supported housing is a key ‘identified’ issue. The Council is monitoring the situation relating to funding for supported accommodation as the Housing Corporation reviews its approach to supported housing provision.
Meeting the Needs of People with Substance/Misuse Problems The Council and its partners recognise that there is a need to provide co-ordinated housing services for people with substance misuse problems.
People with substance misuse problems often exhibit chaotic behaviour patterns. Their ability to access and maintain mainstream housing can be limited. To address this, the Council has developed housing related support services in partnership with Shelter Housing Aid and Research Project (SHARP) for people with substance misuse problems.
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SHARP provide floating tenancy support to address housing issues impeding the rehabilitation of service users with problematic drug use, through the provision of a support service. This support aims to address dependency and housing related issues in order to enable the service users to access and maintain independent living.
The main objectives of this project are:
• to offer advice and information on health issues, education, employment opportunities, homelessness and housing, welfare rights and benefits entitlement
• to reduce the level of substance related harm and to improve the ability of service users to achieve their identified targets, i.e. reduction, control and abstinence, to improve the health, social and economic circumstances of service users
Health and Family Support The Sure Start programme provides childcare and health support to families in deprived areas, targeting the link between poor housing, other indices of deprivation and health inequalities.
There are a number of Sure Start schemes within the Borough:
• Cobden Street Children’s Centre and Shelthorpe Children’s Centre provide integrated education, care, family support and health services
• the Loughborough East Sure Start programme provides a range of services to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children through integrated services including family support, advice on nurturing, health services and early learning
Meeting the Health Needs of Homeless People There are clear links between homelessness and health, for example, the anxiety and mental health problems that come about as a result of the uncertainty as well as the difficulties in maintaining a balanced diet or regular sleep patterns.
The Homelessness Review and Strategy (2003) has already highlighted the difficulty for homeless people in accessing health services, particularly amongst some of the harder to reach groups, such as rough sleepers and gypsies and travellers, and is working towards ways of addressing this through the Charnwood Health Forum.
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • Improving community health using • Action 16 development control interventions and policies • Addressing health inequalities and targeting • Action 17 specific groups (e.g.) older people, teenage parents, the homeless, Gypsies and Travellers (refer to chapter 4, aim 9) • Health checks for neighbourhoods using pilot • Action 18 money from the ODPM
• Aim 7 - Protecting the Community
Introduction To be happy with where they live, people need to feel safe within their homes, their neighbourhood and their wider community. There are a range of initiatives that the Council can undertake from promoting crime reduction initiatives to dealing with perpetrators of crime and designing it out in areas considered problematic. Recently, the three estate based Neighbourhood Wardens were involved in promoting the Smart Water burglary reduction scheme on the Ashby Road Estate within
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Loughborough. This has proved to be successful in reducing overall perceptions about the ‘fear of crime’.
Issues facing the Borough:
• Many incidents of domestic violence are not reported and therefore its true extent within the Borough is not know • It is acknowledged that a small proportion of racial harassment and other racial incidents are reported, therefore, the true extent of the problem within Charnwood is unknown • Even though overall crime rates are down people’s perceptions have risen and continuous work needs to be carried out to decrease people’s fear of crime
Charnwood Community Safety Partnership The performance of local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships/Community Safety Partnerships is at the heart of the Government’s improvement agenda. Partnerships have a crucial role in supporting delivery of the Home Office Crime Reduction Strategy agendas.
Each Community Safety Partnership was charged, under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, with adopting a three-year strategy for reducing crime and disorder. Charnwood has a partnership in place since 1992 with a good record of co-operative working giving it a head start. The initial strategy for 1999-2002 has been the foundation for reducing most categories of crime and disorder and forms the basis of the Crime and Disorder Strategy 2002-2005.
The previous three-year strategy resulted in a number of successful projects and operations in reducing crime figures, including:
• formation of Charnwood Community Against Drugs Partnership • “Alive not kicking” – project to raise awareness and issues surrounding violence • “Time Out – a project run to provide support for young carers • PRIDE – project aimed at making homes of the elderly and vulnerable more secure • “Bogus Callers” and “Distraction Burglary Roadshow” – work and video campaign Leicestershire Constabulary, aimed at older and vulnerable people to raise awareness and distraction burglary • Handy Van Scheme Leicestershire to enhance security measures to make elderly and vulnerable peoples homes more safe and secure
Crime & Disorder Reduction Strategy 2005-2008 As a result of considering the audit and consultation results15, the Partnership identifies four themed areas for reducing Crime and Disorder in Charnwood in 2005-2008:
• reduce violent crime • reduce acquisitive crime and drugs misuse • reduce the incidents of anti-social behaviour • protect and reassure the community
Our strategy for housing and our plans and actions have been greatly influenced by the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy. As a consequence housing has made a significant contribution to the achievements of the Strategy to date including:
• the Burglary Reduction Initiative (BRI) co-ordinated by the Community Safety Partnership The Burglary Reduction Action Plan set the target of reducing dwelling burglaries by 23% over the period 2002-05. The BRI has seen the delivery of a number of property security schemes throughout the Borough as well as security measures for people who have been victims of crime, including:
15 The Crime and Disorder Audit 2001
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- regular police involvement in raising awareness an promoting initiatives on estates and at residents surgeries across the Borough - installation of CCTV and improved lighting in high risk areas - the introduction of a budget for security measures for tenants who have been a victim of crime and - a pilot scheme to replace secure door entry systems to blocks of flats
• using a mixture of funds and contributions from housing resources three estate-based Neighbourhood Warden Schemes have been set up and the wardens have been involved in a range of activities including estate based ‘clean ups’, liaison with community groups and reporting incidences of anti-social behaviour.
We will continue to work in partnership to deliver the following actions identified below:
Crime & Disorder Reduction Strategy 2005- Action 2008 - Strategic Aims To reduce violent crime • To continue to support campaigns raising awareness around the issues of Domestic Violence and promote the Domestic Violence Common Monitoring Project To reduce acquisitive • To continue to support the work of the Leicestershire Safe at crime and tackle drug Home – Handy Van Scheme which helps prevent burglaries misuse and repeat victimisation • To tackle the problem of prolific and priority offender through the countywide multi-agency approach MAPPOM (Multi-Agency Public Protection Offender Management) • To run crime prevention campaigns throughout the Borough To reduce the incidences of • To work with relevant agencies to promote the prevention of anti-social behaviour anti-social behaviour throughout the Borough • To promote relevant interventions through the Partnership to reduce the incidence of criminal damage • To work with relevant agencies to reduce incidents of abandoned vehicles, fly tipping, graffiti, etc • To work with relevant agencies and projects to promote the reporting of Racist incidents and Hate crime To protect and reassure • To contribute to multi-agency initiatives to promote the community community cohesion in the Borough • Together with other interested parties we will seek to use the Buzz Bus to engage with young people and provide drug and alcohol information • To work with relevant agencies to ensure the delivery of the Partnership’s action plan
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • Appropriate intervention to anti-social • Action 19 behaviour • Designing out crime in the physical • Action 20 environment • Community development and engagement • Action 21
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• Aim 8 - Tackling Homelessness
Introduction The reasons for becoming homeless are diverse and often complex. Addressing problems of homelessness extend beyond simply providing accommodation. The Council has a statutory duty to provide assistance to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness within the Borough, however, this duty only requires the Council to provide accommodation for certain groups of homeless people considered to be in ‘priority need’16. In July 2003 the Council produced a Homelessness Review and Strategy, which set out the improvements that would be made to help address the needs of all homeless people, irrespective of whether or not they are ‘statutorily homeless’. This strategy links in with the actions identified within the Homelessness Strategy to reduce and prevent homelessness within the Borough and improves the services available to those who are threatened or become homeless.
Issues facing the Borough:
• Continued demand for homelessness services • Need for suitable temporary accommodation for single people and childless couples • The majority of households in priority need continue to be those with children • The main reasons for homelessness are: parental, family and friend eviction and relationship breakdown • The supply of social rented housing is under pressure – there is a mismatch between demand and the type of accommodation available
A Strategy to Tackle Single Homelessness (2001) In the last five years, partnership and interagency working to deal with homelessness issues in Charnwood has moved forward significantly. The production of ‘A Strategy to Tackle Homelessness Amongst Single People in Charnwood’ (2001), which a variety of organisations helped to develop and progress, provided a firm basis from which to develop a new comprehensive homelessness strategy.
Charnwood Homelessness Review & Strategy (2003) The 2003 Homelessness Strategy was developed from a review of the homelessness and advice services, including the work already progressed through the Single Homelessness Strategy Steering Group. The review identified key issues, assessed options and confirmed priorities for action in consultation with partners and customers. The Homelessness Strategy Steering Group made up of representatives from the Voluntary Sector, Social Services, Primary Care Trust and the Council monitors the implementation of the strategy and reviews it on a quarterly basis.
Changes in the housing market and the addition of new priority need categories by the Homelessness (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England) Order 200217 have led to pressure on the supply of social rented accommodation and the council are now faced with a number of challenges. This achieves the Government requirement to halve the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2010 and the statutory requirement to ensure that households with dependant children or expectant mothers are only placed in bed and breakfast accommodation in an emergency and then for no more than six weeks. Despite this, much progress has been made against the original aims and objectives of the Homelessness Strategy, including a detailed appraisal of options with partners to:
• Implement a range of preventative initiatives to prevent and reduce homelessness within the Borough
• enhance the availability of alternative forms of suitable temporary accommodation
16 The Housing Act 1999 (as amended) 17 Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 2051
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• develop partnerships with housing providers across all tenures to enable permanent accommodation to be secured for homeless families and
• reduce the use of Bed and Breakfast accommodation for all groups
The ongoing review of the Homelessness Strategy will enable the Council and its partners to continually reassess the impact of the changes in demand for services and develop appropriate strategic priorities for the future.
Key actions and achievements can be found in the Charnwood Homelessness Review and Strategy 2003 available at www.charnwood.gov.uk.
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • Increased resources for prevention • Action 22 • Direct access emergency accommodation • Action 23 • Improved inter-agency working with common • Action 24 aims and resources
• Aim 9 - Supporting Vulnerable People
Introduction For some people accessing appropriate accommodation is not enough. To enable them to continue to live in their home and engage with their community, they need extra assistance. There are a number of supported housing and floating tenancy support schemes available for residents within the Borough, many provided by the Supporting People regime. It is important that we ensure that these schemes develop and adapt to continue to meet the needs of the Borough and its residents.
Issues facing the Borough:
• The number of older people in the Borough is projected to increase, as are the number of frail older people • There is a mismatch in the type of accommodation which is needed • 1509 incidences of Domestic violence were recorded in Charnwood in 2003/04. The Home Office estimate that only 12% of all incidents are reported, so a reasonable assessment of the number of incidents on an annual basis is in excess of 12,500 • Tightening of the funding in the Supporting People regime
The Supporting People Programme is central to the Government’s Social Inclusion Policy and its Homelessness Preventative Agenda. The Council and its partners have grasped the opportunities presented by the Supporting People agenda to provide additional support services to vulnerable people within in the Borough. The aim of the support is focused around sustaining tenancies and promoting social inclusion.
The Leicestershire Supporting People Five Year Strategy 2005-2010 describes the aspirations of the seven District Councils, Leicestershire County Council, Probation and the four PCTs in relation to a wide range of client groups.
Decisions on Supporting People priorities lie with the Supporting People Commissioning Body which has informed the five year Supporting People Strategy. The Supporting People Allocation for Leicestershire is £7,148,920.36 this is the second lowest grant per capita in England and a fifth of the level received by Leicester City. This funds 6312 units of support that meet housing related supported needs across the county.
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Housing and housing related support for older and vulnerable people contribute to key government targets such as:
• the target to eradicate the use of Bed and Breakfast accommodation for homeless families • the Public Service Agreement (PSA) target for local government to reduce the under 18 conception rate by 50% by 2010 and • standards set out in the National Service Framework for Older People
Increasingly services meeting the needs of vulnerable people in Charnwood are developed and managed through a multi-agency approach. Examples include:
• Learning Disabilities Partnership Board • Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Forum • Charnwood Floating Support Network Group • Charnwood Health Forum • Community Safety Partnership
The Council will continue the development and review of both housing strategies for vulnerable people and housing related elements of existing strategies. Key pieces of work identified for completion during 2005 - 2010 are:
• Older Persons Strategy (Ongoing) • BME Strategy (2005/06) • review of the Supporting People Strategy (2010) • review of Homelessness Strategy (2008)
Work to date has identified the need to provide a number of new housing developments for vulnerable people. The Council and its partners are currently exploring ways of providing additional supported accommodation within Loughborough for vulnerable groups by harnessing resources donated via the voluntary sector.
Meeting the Needs of Older People As people live longer and increasing numbers wish to live independently in their own homes, there has been a need to develop innovative housing and support options to enable this. Progress has already been made in recognising and enhancing the supply of appropriate accommodation and support for older people in Charnwood, with achievements such as:
• a survey of all sheltered housing tenants during 2004, culminating in a re-organisation of sheltered housing wardens in 2004. The revised working arrangements have resulted in improved service delivery • an improved Care on Call community alarm service resulting in greater involvement of the Council’s call centre in the provision of support for elderly and vulnerable people • the re-modelling of Gray’s Court (category 2 scheme) in partnership with Touchstone Housing Association; the refurbishment of bedsit accommodation at Sorrell Court and Dudley Court to provide 1-2 bed flats, including adaptations for disabled access • development of the Countywide Sheltered Housing Providers Group; a cross tenure group of providers, reviewing the future needs for older people, the future role of Wardens and the utilization of Community Alarm Centres. Future priorities include the development of extra care housing and the development of a countywide control centre • the establishment of a Handy Van Scheme. The Council will continue to work in partnership to enhance security measures for elderly and vulnerable people
Meeting the Needs of Young People Young people often face particular difficulties in accessing housing including limited availability of social housing, reduced vacancies in the private rented sector combined with housing benefit restrictions to under 25 year olds and difficulty providing references.
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Charnwood has 40 units of specialist accommodation with support for young people funded through Supporting People.
The ODPM also part fund a specialist resettlement worker and mediation worker through the Homelessness Grant Programme.
The Specialist Resettlement Worker assists young people who have been excluded from accessing social housing by helping resolve outstanding issues to enable them to once more access appropriate housing.
The Mediation Worker was specifically developed to address the growing number of young people being excluded from the family home. The aim of the post is to act as an impartial third party to help people to talk and find the best way forward for the individual. Mediation can achieve a number of positive outcomes, including returning the young person home where appropriate.
Developing solutions to the problems of youth homelessness are key priorities for the council and its partners. Key actions to date include:
• enhancement of the provision of floating support for young people, funded by the Supporting People Programme • continuing development of a joint housing and social services protocol for vulnerable 16 & 17 year olds • funding for a mediator, based at the Charnwood Shelter Project, working with estranged young homeless people in helping them to their family home • the development of a countywide inter-agency Steering Group on Homeless 16 & 17 year olds • education work in schools.
Meeting the Needs of Lone Teenage Parents The Council has always supported in a very practical and positive way the Government’s objective that all 16-17 year old lone parents, who cannot reside with their own parents or partner, and who require accommodation, should be offered appropriate housing with support. Charnwood decided against purpose-built hostel-type accommodation and established instead a post of Housing Support Worker specifically for this client group, funded by Supporting People and based at The Bridge Independent Housing Advice Agency. This post is recognised in the Regional Teenage Pregnancy Strategy as a model of good practice within the region.
The Council also supports the main strategic objectives of the Regional Project (Housing & Teenage Pregnancy) April 2005, including the greater involvement of RSLs in assisting this client group and the development of a regional training pack for front-line Housing Officers to challenge attitudes and support pregnant teenagers and teenage parents with their transition into independent tenancies.
Meeting the needs of Gypsies and Travellers The Government is advocating a holistic approach to the issues surrounding the travelling population, including land use planning, housing and environmental health and education. Draft Government guidance on managing unauthorised camping places the emphasis on Coucils to identify suitable sites.
In Leicestershire the number of Gypsy caravans exceeds the number of authorised places where they can stop. The provision of suitable accommodation, therefore, is seen as a vital approach to deal with unauthorised camping. To address this, the Council has signed up to the Code of Practice, an agreement between Councils in Leicestershire and Rutland and Leicestershire Constabulary aimed at managing unauthorised encampments by travellers. The countywide joint working party for the provision of transit and stopping place sites for gypsies and other travellers meets on a regular basis to progress this initiative.
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Meeting the Needs of BME Communities The Council is committed to meeting the needs of all minority groups within the Borough. When addressing the needs of communities the Council will ensure that these are fully inclusive and all of the community are consulted and involved.
The Council is positive in its approach to good race relations via its Corporate Equalities Plan. The Housing Department use their policies to support victims of racial harassment and to take action against perpetrators in line with the Commission for Racial Equality guidance. The housing department feeds its ethnic monitoring data and harassment findings into the Corporate Community Safety Partnership to enable a complete picture of issues to be built up.
Meeting the Needs of Asylum Seekers and Refugees The Council is the only District Council in the East Midlands to provide Council accommodation to Refugee Housing Association to house Asylum Seekers dispersed by NASS (National Asylum Support Service). Along with the three cities of Leicester, Derby and Nottingham Charnwood has provided accommodation since 2001 and the current contract commits the authority until April 2006. The Authority is also an active participant in the Leicester and Leicestershire Asylum Seeker and Refugees Multi-Agency Forum.
Charnwood Racial Equality Council provide support and undertake immigration casework for asylum seekers and are registered with Offices of Immigration Services Commission (OISC) as well as holding a full quality mark for Community Legal Services.
Refugee Housing Association provides a floating support service to refugees living in tenancies on newly allocated properties. The aim is to promote social inclusion to enable integration into British systems and institutions, sustain tenancies and integrate into the community. Support is provided during and following the move to a new address. The support is tailored to the needs of individuals recognising their special needs as a vulnerable client group.
Meeting the Needs of Victims of Domestic Violence The ODPM has indicated that adequate refuge provision for victims of domestic violence is 1 unit per 10,000 population. Charnwood has 3.2 units per 100,000 population well above the regional average of 0.5 as well as the Government target.
The Council has part funded the provision of a Domestic Violence Outreach Worker based at Loughborough Women’s Aid. Domestic Violence is one of the local main causes of homelessness and nationally, is recognised as a main cause of repeat homeless applications. The aim of this service is to provide information and support to women living in Charnwood, who are currently, or have experienced, any kind of domestic violence or abuse. The Outreach Worker is also available to give short awareness-raising sessions to any local organisations who would like to find out more about domestic violence and the options and support available. Loughborough Women’s Aid manages the scheme.
Because of the complex needs of victims of domestic violence it is essential to take a multi-agency approach when providing services for victims. The Housing Department has been actively involved in the Charnwood Domestic Violence Forum. As part of the homelessness prevention agenda the Housing Department is currently developing, in co-operation with Leicestershire Police, a Sanctuary Scheme to provide increased security measures for those who wish to remain in their own homes but require extra peace of mind.
Meeting the Needs of Ex-Offenders Responsibility for providing housing assistance for ex-offenders is shared between the Council and Probation service.
There is no specialist provision for ex-offenders within the Borough, however, some projects for single homeless people have high numbers of clients who are ex-offenders. Seven people were accepted as homeless and were in priority need as a result of having been in custody or on remand in
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2004/5. However, as priority need is not automatically given to people leaving custody but only those deemed to be vulnerable as a result, numbers within this group will be higher.
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland have agreed to a centralised process, drawing together the required specialisms into a One Stop Shop approach to prolific and priority offenders. Because of the very clear accepted link between housing status and the risk of re-offending housing are part of a multi-agency approach along with Police, Probation, drugs and victim workers, working in a holistic approach to managing the offender’s behaviour, concentrating on control and rehabilitation support.
The Council has been working in partnership with the Prison Service to develop a countywide protocol between prisons and local authorities in Leicestershire. This will look at various housing issues including the successful resettlement of ex-offenders.
Meeting the Needs of People with Substance Misuse Problems Shelter Housing Aid & Research Project (SHARP) provide floating tenancy support to address housing issues impeding the rehabilitation of service users with problematic drug use, through the provision of a support service. This support aims to address dependency and housing related issues in order to enable the service users to access and maintain independent living. The project has a capacity of 14 clients.
Housing Strategy Priorities: Action Plan: • Individually tailored support • Action 25 • Supported accommodation for different • Action 26 needs • More effective joint working • Action 27
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Chapter 5 Options and Resources for Delivery
• Chapter Outline
This strategy will only be successful if the Councils key partners and stakeholders support the priorities and the resources required to meet the plans and actions identified.
The options considered by stakeholders have been prioritised according to achievability, the contribution partner agencies could make, including people with appropriate skills, knowledge, time, capacity and joint resources to achieve common aims and objectives.
This chapter will:
• explain the process whereby options were prioritised; • describe the mechanisms through which resources are managed within the Council; and • present the financial information that supports the work, actions and plans described throughout the strategy.
• Consideration of Options
Options The nine strategic aims of the strategy are consistent with local, regional and national priorities. This allows a degree of flexibility in how these aims will be delivered in terms of specific priorities for the strategy. As a result stakeholders and in particular frontline service providers were able to ensure that the priorities chosen whilst challenging are deliverable.
A broad range of potential priorities falling within the nine strategic aims were initially identified within Housing Services and then the opportunity to contribute was extended to all services within the Council and some key partners many of whom took the opportunity to contribute suggestions. This lead to nearly 100 priorities that were used as the basis for the workshops at the Stakeholder consultation event “Who Needs Housing?”
On the day delegates participated in workshops focusing on two or three of the strategic aims to identify three key priorities for each. Workshop facilitators used the original list of priorities to provoke a discussion on which should be moved forward through the strategy, delegates were also able to put forward alternative priorities for consideration on the day.
This produced twenty-seven priorities that were fed back to the full delegation who were than able to vote for their preferred options producing the rankings within the priorities. Each delegate was given nine “votes” which could be spread between the twenty-seven options as they saw fit.
The options chosen were those that our stakeholders felt were most appropriate for the Borough and achievable within the most likely resources (time, staff, finances) available. This included the need to balance how resources could be used to best effect. i.e. how do they meet wider corporate and housing priorities, Best Value, appropriate cost, scale of need and legislative requirements.
Although delegates on the day did express preferences between the priorities it is felt that as all of these require a partnership approach and will be funded from differing resources spread across many partner agencies it is reasonable to progress all of these simultaneously.
A full list of the options considered can be found in Appendix 3 (along with the number of votes cast for each of the chosen priorities) which demonstrates the thought process and the rationale behind which options and broad targets are chosen. The broad targets go on to inform specific, measurable, action orientated, realistic and time bound targets in the Action Plan in Appendix 1.
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To ensure the Council is able to meet the decent homes standard for all of its housing stock a full stock options appraisal was undertaken to evaluate the potential alternative options. As the option most suited to ensuring the standard is met it has been agreed to set up an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) to manage and improve Council housing in the Borough. A key task for 2005 will be the submission of an ALMO bid to ensure the decent homes standard and aspirations can be met for tenants. The outcome of this bid will affect future strategic options and resources available to support the key priority areas.
• How We Have Planned Our Resources
Regional Housing Boards A requirement of Regional Housing Boards is to produce regional housing strategies with the aim of advising ministers on investment priorities and to link provision of local housing to the key drivers affecting housing within the sub region. This has lead to a significant redistribution of investment funds. For 2005/06 these funds are primarily focused on the south of the East Midlands where Deleted: s 'Sustainable Communities' for new build to assist growth pressures in the south-east, whilst in the north-west of the region there are problems with low demand for housing.
The Council's Capital Plan The Council seeks to maximise resources and manage them to deliver the objectives of this strategy. The latest Capital Strategy was delivered to the ODPM in 2003. A number of principles underpin the Capital Plan, which documents the Capital-spending in the medium-term from 2005/06 to 2007/08:
• recognising Government priorities for funding including the Regional Housing Strategy and Decent Homes targets • recognising the investment priorities of partner agencies such as the Housing Corporation • maximising external funding and other investment particularly from the private sector • the need to reflect the priorities of the Community Strategy • ensuring decisions have involved residents, customers and partners • identifying and ensuring adequate support for revenue spending
The priorities for housing investment set out in the Council's Capital Plan are:
• maintaining sustainable communities • meeting the Decent Homes Standard for Council owned homes and development of an achievable 30 year HRA Business Plan and disability adaptations • the provision of housing improvements through renovation grant, home repairs assistance grants and disability adaptations • financial support for the provision of new social housing in the RSL sector • supporting wider plans for regeneration in the Borough
Working Groups These priorities are driven by the following working groups that operate within the Council:
The Financial Strategy Group (FSG) meets approximately every month as a pre-cursor to Cabinet. It is Member driven and includes the Leader and Deputy Leader (who is also the Lead Member for Housing) of the Council and the Lead Member for Finance, alongside Senior Officers.
The Capital Programme Team meets approximately every six weeks and is chaired by the Head of Financial Services and includes representation from Senior Members of Housing and Property Services. Its remit is to monitor the scheduling and progress of the capital programme including capital expenditure and profiling. The group considers capital appraisals on all proposals for new capital schemes.
The Asset Management Team meets approximately every month and is chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive (with Section 151 responsibilities). The group meets to conduct a strategic review of the use of assets which includes consideration of potential acquisitions and disposals, requests from developers and operational and revenue related issues which affect the Council's assets.
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• Assessment of Bids for Spend
Revenue Resources - General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Resources are attributed to the Council's services through an annual budget exercise which results in the setting of Council Tax and dwelling rent. Budgets are frozen at prior year amounts, following adjustments for unavoidable price increases. Requests for additional budget are documented into a Service Delivery Plan. These are written by each service and link the operational objectives and targets of the service with the strategic aims of the Council. Requests for additional budget resources are aggregated for Cabinet to prioritise against the Strategies and Priorities of the Council within annual budget reports.
Capital Resources - General Fund and Housing Revenue Account A new capital scheme must be assessed by capital appraisal prior to the project being included in the Capital Plan. The project must be set within one of the six Corporate Strategic Aims, (i.e. Decent Homes), together with descriptions of the purpose, objective and anticipated outcomes. It must adhere to the Council's Corporate Priorities and Service Delivery Plans. A risk assessment must be conducted which includes consideration of the consequences of not proceeding with the project, alternative means of meeting the needs and addressing the problems and key risk factors with regard to cost, achievability, funding and future revenue streams.
The initial appraisal is scored by the Head of Service with the result discussed with the relevant Lead Member. The whole proposed programme is then submitted to Cabinet, via the Financial Services Group, showing the scores which reflect how well the schemes fulfil the criteria above. Cabinet then agree a Capital Plan based on the suitability of the schemes submitted and the funds available. Larger schemes are subject to an in-depth appraisal before authority to spend is granted.
• Summary of Resources
Capital Expenditure Capital expenditure is summarised as: 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Outturn Budget Budget Budget £000 £000 £000 £000 Housing Revenue Account 4,171 5,857 10,463 7,858
General Fund Renovation & Home Repairs Assistance Grant 72 300 300 325 Disabled Facilities Grants 408 400 420 450 Social Housing Schemes Grants 644 788 1,000 1,000 1,124 1,488 1,720 1,775
Capital Expenditure - Housing Revenue Account This summary was taken from the financial forecast of the SOA as prepared by Consultants from the Housing Quality Network (HQN). It matches the amounts required for the Council to be confident it can reach the Decent Homes Standard by 2010/11. Funding is from a combination of Major Repairs Allowance and assumed grant from the management of the stock moving to an ALMO. This is detailed in the HRA Business Plan. HQN analysed the future needs of expenditure and the income sourced to meet Decent Homes and the ALMO bid.
Capital Expenditure - General Fund Housing General Fund housing capital expenditure is comprised of financial support to social housing schemes organised by RSLs, Renovation Grants, Home Repairs Assistance Grants and DFGs. HRA Account
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capital expenditure includes all expenditure to reach the Decent Homes Standard by 2010/11 as well as Disabled Adaptations to Council Homes.
2005/06 £000 Housing Capital Expenditure 1,124 (Sources of Funding)
Disabled Facilities Grant (221) Specified Capital Receipt* (65) General Capital Receipt (585) Repayment of Improvement Grants (253) Total 1,124
* The Specified Capital Receipt was one that could only be used to cover expenditure on Regeneration and Affordable Housing.
Future capital expenditure will be financed through a combination of Capital Receipts, Prudential Borrowing, Section 106 monies and grants including DFG. Current Section 106 monies total £300k of which £105k is currently in the process of being utilised. Further Section 106 monies are anticipated although these schemes are not yet final.
The funding of the Capital Plan, inclusive of the Housing General Fund element is summarised as: 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 £000 £000 £000 Scheme Specific Funding* 1,840 2,117 805 Capital Receipts 9,663 1,512 917 RCCO 773 773 773 Works Reserve 85 0 0 12,361 4,402 2,495
* Scheme Specific Funding includes S106 contributions and capital grant allocations.
General Fund Housing Revenue
The 2004/05 outturn for the principal General Fund Housing revenue items was: Homelessness Private Housing Housing Housing Neighbourhood Sector Prevention Alarm Strategy Standards Renewal Wardens System £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Controllable 269 37 66 137 189 40 expenditure Controllable (30) (131) 0 (1) 0 (24) income Support 242 143 64 61 86 (5) Services/Capital Net total 481 49 130 197 275 11
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The 2005/06 original budget for the principal General Fund Housing revenue items is presented in this table: Homelessness Private Housing Housing Housing Neighbourhood Sector Prevention Alarm Strategy Standards Renewal Wardens System £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Controllable 278 41 75 123 162 47 expenditure Controllable (138) (120) 0 0 0 (26) income Support 197 150 75 51 866 (8) Services/Capital Net total 337 71 150 174 1,028 13
Housing Revenue Account - Revenue Expenditure
The principal management and maintenance expenditure is recorded in the following table: 2004/05 2005/06 Outturn Budget £000 £000 General Management 2562 2789 Special Management 1,191 1,185 Management of R & M 573 555 Total Management costs 4,326 4,529 Repairs & Maintenance 3,872 4,121
Further information concerning future projections for revenue and capital expenditure and income is detailed over a thirty-year HRA Business Plan.
• Grants
In 2005/06 a grant allocation of £240k is available to spend on Disabled Facilities Grants and £539k for our Supporting People Programme. The Council will pay a grant to The Bridge Housing Advisory Service totalling £91k with a further £22k Support Service costs which would be attributable to the scheme, absorbed by the Council. The Bridge provides independent housing advice and is located on the premises of the Council at Southfield's.
• Future Projections
This Chapter has summarised the current financial position of the HRA and General Fund Housing revenue and capital elements within the basis of the Capital Plan which is an rolling three-year cycle. This explains why, for example, capital programme elements have not been forecast over a longer period. However, the Council is confident that within the structure of the management of the finances, the housing strategic objectives as outlined in this document will be able to be fully resourced. Further information on this area will be available on request.
• Link to the Capital Plan http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/uploads/14203a18e82212975493713.pdf
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Conclusion
This strategy has confirmed the Council’s priorities for housing over the next five years as well as outlined the plans and actions it intends to carry out to help realise its vision for housing within the Borough.
‘Charnwood Housing Strategy: Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’ demonstrates throughout how its objectives meet national, regional and the Council’s wider corporate objectives. The housing world is changing and customers want and deserve better choices and quality homes. This strategy clearly outlines the structures and processes in place in Charnwood to ensure that all its activities will make Charnwood a place where people choose to live.
In producing this strategy the Council has also recognised that as well as achievements there is much work to be done. There are many challenges for the housing strategy in Charnwood and the Council faces issues such as large concentrations of student population, mismatch in the type of accommodation needed, to new challenges, such as, the problem of affordability and continued demand for homeless services. This strategy meets these challenges head on. It also builds upon our achievements to date and shows how we will take forward the opportunities provided by the initiatives outlined within this document.
Given so much is happening in Charnwood it is vital that it has a strategy that states a clear vision for housing, confirms what it intends to do and why, and most importantly shows how it will help achieve a better Charnwood. ‘Charnwood Housing Strategy: Successful, Thriving and Inclusive’ does this.
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Appendix 1- Action Plan
Table 1: Actions Brought Forward from Previous Strategy
Action Lead officer Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic Fit Develop a BME R Graves General Fund Charnwood Racial Equality Produce a BME Strategy by 2008. Sustainable Communities Plan, Strategy for Housing Council, RSL Partners BV164 Charnwood Community Across All Tenures Strategy
Develop a Youth A Kalmar Crime & Disorder CCLATA, Police, This will now be included within Sustainable communities Plan, Strategy for Council Funding, The Big Connexions, Local the Children & Young Person’s Crime Reduction Strategy, Housing Estates Lottery Fund Education Authority, Sport Strategy 2005 Charnwood Corporate Plan, England Anti-Social Behaviour Policy and Procedure., Children and Young Persons Strategy
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Table 2
Strategic Priority Aim One – Creating Sustainable Communities Objective One – Enabling Regeneration and Affordable Homes Action Strategy Priority Action Lead officer Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic Fit Plan (ranking) Reference Rural Affordability (1) Research rural R Graves Enabling Rural Housing 20 new units produced Corporate Plan, Issues and Grant; Enabler, Partner in rural areas by 2010 Sustainable private SHG; S106 RSL’s, Community Strategy, affordable contributions Housebuilders, 2 local housing needs Regional Housing 1 housing where Housing surveys pa Strategy, Local Plan needed Corporation 2 rural exception sites identified by 2010 Affordable Homes (2) Maximise R Graves Enabling Partner RSL’s, 90 units of affordable Corporate Plan, affordable family Grant, SHG, Housing housing per annum. Sustainable homes for social S106 Corporation, Communities Plan, 2 rent through contributions Housebuilders Regional Housing s106 agreements Strategy and direct developments Actively R Graves Set up a register for promote Shared households interested 3 Ownership in shared ownership by 2006
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Impact of Student Population To adopt and D Hankin General Fund University, Private Student housing Corporate Plan, on the Housing Market in implement the Landlords Forum provision in Sustainable Loughborough (3) provisions of an Students Union Loughborough SPD to Communities Plan, SPD Student be adopted by 2005 Regional Housing Housing Strategy, Charnwood Provision in Community Strategy Loughborough Borough of Charnwood Local Plan
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Table Three
Priority Aim 2 – Balanced Housing Markets Objective One Enabling Regeneration and Affordable Homes Action Strategy Priority Action Lead Resources Key Partners Output & Strategic Fit Plan (rank) officer Measure Reference Consider Type and Size of Include polices in D Hankin General Fund Developers Provision of an Regional Housing Housing Provided Locally (1) Local development appropriate mix of Strategy, Regional Framework to housing in new Spatial Strategy secure an developments (RSS8), 4 appropriate mix of Community housing of different Strategy, types and sizes Corporate Plan
Provision for Aging Population Co-operate with J Franks General Fund; Leicestershire Produce a Regional Housing (2) County-wide Older A Kalmar Regional Housing Social Services, Countywide Strategy, Persons Housing Board Supporting Housing Needs Supporting People Needs Survey People, Age Survey by 2008 Strategy, Concern Corporate Plan Produce a 5 Countywide Older Persons Strategy by 2010 Maximise use of HRA Continue to map existing sheltered supply and demand stock of all sheltered schemes Key Worker Provision (3) Monitor Key R Graves General Fund, Police, Health, Produce six-monthly Key Worker Workers and Regional Housing Education reports on Living Housing housing need in Board recruitment issues in Programme; 6 relation to main key worker Regional Housing recruitment sectors, Health, Strategy difficulties in the Police, Education Borough
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Table Four
Strategic Priority Aim Three Delivering Affordable Housing Objective One Enabling Regeneration and Affordable Homes Action Strategy Priority (rank) Action Lead Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic Fit Plan officer Reference More Flexibility in Housing Identify differences R Graves General Fund RSL’s, Produce Local Housing Regional Housing Provision (1) within Borough Housebuilders, Market Assessment by Strategy, Sustainable housing markets with Housing 2005; Communities Pan regards to affordable Corporation, 7 housing provision David Couttie Develop a County- Consultants wide Housing Market assessment by 2006
Increase Affordable Housing on Adopt & Implement D General Fund Housebuilders, 30% affordable housing Regional Housing New Developments to 30% (2) Supplementary Hankin RSL’s, Housing produced on defined Strategy, Corporate Planning Document Corporation sites by 2007; Plan, Borough of on Affordable Charnwood Local Housing Provision S106 agreements to Plan 8 secure additional affordable housing from adoption of SPD: 18% by 2005/06 24% by 2006/07 30% by 2007/08 More Specialist Housing (3) Review the R Graves Enabling Grant, Housebuilders, Produce policy Sustainable contribution the RSL’s, Housing document by 2008 Communities Plan, Enabling Grant could Corporation Regional Housing 9 make to the Strategy, provision of specialist Homelessness housing Strategy
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Table 5 Strategic Priority Aim Four – Providing Decent Homes Objective Two Decent Homes in all tenures
Action Strategy Priority Action Lead Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic Fit Plan (rank) officer Reference Achieving the ‘Decent Ensure all CBC homes C Moore MRA, ALMO Contractors, RSL’s All Social Housing Sustainable Homes Standard’ (1) meet the Decent G Cockle funding, within the Borough Communities Plan, Homes Standard P Upton Private meets the minimum Regional Housing Finance Decent Homes Strategy, Community Co-operate with RSL’s R Graves RSL Funding, Contractors, RSL’s, Standard by 2010 Strategy, Corporate to ensure all RSL Private RSL Liaison Group BV184a Plan homes within the Finance Borough meet the Decent Homes Standard
10 Ensure all homes in B McKenzie General Fund Warm Front, 65% of vulnerable private sector (officer time British Gas, London households live in occupied by vulnerable and grant Energy and Enact decent Homes by 2006 people meet DHS budget), Energy and 70% by 2010 Energy Management, Action Individual Property Grants Owners Agency, British Gas, London Energy and Enact Energy Management Improvements which Achieve minimum C Moore HRA CCLATA, Replace 1138 double Climate Change Produce Lower standards of thermal G Cockle Contractors glazed windows by Strategy, CBC 11 Running Costs for comfort 2010 Affordable Warmth Tenants (2) BV63 Strategy
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A Logical Approach to Five year cyclical G Cockle HRA Contractors, Ensure dwellings are Sustainable the Programming of planned maintenance CCLATA inspected and repaired Communities Plan, Work to Tenants’ on a five yearly cyclical Community Strategy, 12 Homes (3) maintenance Corporate Plan programme BV211a
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Table 6 Strategic Priority Aim Five – Promoting Affordable Warmth Objective Two Decent Homes in All Tenures
Action Strategic Priority Action Lead officer Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic Fit Plan (ranking) Reference High Quality Maintenance To provide a G Cockle MRA Contractors, Increase tenant Sustainable (1) quality CCLATA satisfaction; Communities Plan, repairs Corporate Plan, service within Complete 100% planned Climate Change agreed repair maintenance repairs Strategy, CBC timescales within given timescales Affordable Warmth per annum; Strategy
Complete 90% of response repairs (all 13 categories) within given timescales per annum BV74a BV211a BV211b Minimise the Achieve 25 day target by number of 2005/06 void days to BV212 relet properties Upgrading Home Insulation Encourage B McKenzie Warmfront Energy Action, Achieve a 30% efficiency Climate Change (2) and assist Heat Grants Agency, improvement from 1996 Strategy, CBC private sector Charnwood London Energy levels within all dwellings Affordable Warmth 14 residents to ‘Able to Pay’ (Enact Energy in the Borough by 2006 Strategy adopt energy Management), British BV63 efficient Gas measures
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Installing Efficient Achieve C Moore HRA CCLATA, Replace 1678 heating Climate Change Appliances (3) minimum G Cockle Contractors systems by 2010 Strategy, CBC standards of BV63 Affordable Warmth 15 thermal Strategy comfort in council properties
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Table 7 Strategic Priority Aim Six – Providing Healthy Homes Objective Three- Supporting a Healthy Thriving Community
Action Strategic Priority (rank) Action Lead Resources Key Partners Output & Strategic Fit Plan officer Measure Reference Improving community health using Reflect need Guy General Primary Care Policies in LDF Homelessness development control interventions and for additional Longley Fund, Trust, S106 contributions Strategy, policies (1) health facility Stuart Developers Charnwood where need East Midlands provision in Moffat Health Forum identified for health Investment in LDF polices. facilities Health Strategy, Negotiate Community 16 appropriate Strategy, Corporate contributions Plan to health facilities through Section 106 Agreements Address health inequalities and targeting Facilitate A Kalmar General Primary Care Regular meetings of Homelessness specific groups (e.g. older people, inter-agency R Graves Fund, ODPM Trusts, Surestart, the Charnwood Strategy, teenage parents, the homeless, Gypsies working to Funding, Charnwood Health Forum and an East Midlands and Travellers) (2) health Supporting Health Forum, annual health Investment in 17 inequalities People Homelessness inequalities Health Strategy, through Funding Strategy Steering workshop session Community partnership Group, ODPM Strategy, Corporate working Plan Health Checks for Neighbourhoods Implement A Kalmar ODPM Primary Care All visits on medical Homelessness Using Pilot Money from the ODPM (3) ODPM R Graves funding Trusts, Surestart, grounds have regard Strategy, Assessment Charnwood to Assessment East Midlands Toolkit Health Forum, Toolkit guidance Investment in 18 Homelessness Health Strategy, Strategy Steering Community Group, ODPM Strategy, Corporate Plan
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Table 8 Strategic Priority Aim Seven Protecting the Community Objective Three Healthy Thriving community
Action Strategic Priority (rank) Action Lead officer Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic Fit Plan Reference Appropriate Intervention to Make appropriate A Kalmar HRA Fund, Police, Probation, Seek to reduce reports Crime Reduction Anti-Social Behaviour (1) and timely D Harris Crime & RSL’s, Domestic of ASB year on year Strategy intervention to Disorder Violence Forum Community Strategy reports of ASB Funding Corporate Plan by/against CBC tenants 19 Enable joint A Kalmar HRA Fund RSLs, Private Facilitate ASB Steering approach to ASB D Harris Crime & Landlords, Group to progress with RSL partners Disorder Loughborough action plans and Private Funding University Landlords to provide sustainable solutions Designing out Crime in the To adopt and D Hankin General Fund Police, Developers, Adoption and Crime Reduction Physical Environment (2) implement the RSL’s implementation of Strategy provisions of an SPD; Leading in Design Community Strategy 20 SPD; Leading by 2005 Corporate Plan Design Leading in Design
Community Development Improve A Kalmar General Fund Police, Probation, Continued promotion Crime Reduction and Engagement (3) communication RSL’s of Neighbourhood Strategy and consultation Wardens Community Strategy with members of Corporate Plan 21 the public to Leading in Design promote the prevention of anti- social behaviour
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Table 9 Strategic Aim Eight Tackling Homelessness Objective Three Supporting a Healthy Thriving Community
Action Strategic Priority (rank) Action Lead Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic Fit Plan officer Reference Increased Resources for Ensure adequate A Kalmar Homelessness Supported 20% reduction in Sustainable Prevention (1) resources feed R Graves Prevention Housing, homelessness Communities Plan, into homelessness Fund, General Providers, applications by 2010 Community prevention fund Fund, ODPM Floating, Support BV214 Strategy, Corporate 22 Funding, Services, BV213 Plan, Homelessness Supporting Charnwood Strategy, People Funding Shelter Project Supporting People Strategy Direct Access Emergency Develop direct A Kalmar Enabling Grant, RSL’s Private 10 direct access bed Sustainable Accommodation (2) access temporary R Graves SHG, Developers, spaces by 2008 Communities Plan, accommodation Supporting Support BV183b Community for homeless People Funding, Providers, Benefit Strategy, Corporate households within Private Funding, Service Plan, Homelessness 23 the Borough General Fund, Strategy, Benefit Supporting People Payments, Strategy Supporting People Funding Improved Inter-Agency Working Develop a A Kalmar General Fund, RSL’s, Primary Common Monitoring Sustainable With Common Resources. (3) Borough wide Supporting Care Trusts, procedure adopted Communities Plan, common People Funding, Local Education by 2008 Community monitoring ODPM Funding Authority, Strategy, Corporate procedure for Connexions, Plan, Homelessness 24 Homelessness Leicestershire Strategy County Council Social Services, Charnwood Shelter Project
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Table 10 Strategic Priority Aim Nine Supporting Vulnerable People Objective Three Supporting a Healthy Thriving Community
Action Strategic Priority Action Lead Resources Key Partners Output & Measure Strategic fit Plan officer Reference Individually Tailored Support Provide adequate C Moore SP Funding, Supporting Reduced levels of Supporting People tenancy support Benefit People, Support evictions and Strategy to ensure Payments Providers, abandoned properties vulnerable Benefit Service by 2010 25 individuals remain in independent accommodation, where appropriate Supported Accommodation for Develop C Moore SP funding, Housing Work with support Supporting People Different Needs supported R Graves Social Corporation, providers to identify Strategy accommodation Housing Supporting additional support to meet the needs Grant, People, Benefit opportunities by 2010 26 of the Borough Enabling Service Grant, Benefit Payments More Effective Joint Working Increase C Moore SP Funding Support Facilitate regular Community partnership Providers meetings of the Strategy, working within Charnwood Floating Homelessness support services Support Network Strategy, Supporting 27 by helping to People Strategy maintain links between organisations
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Appendix 2 Key Performance Indicators and Performance Management Framework
Performance Indicators Our Measures and Targets
The table below sets out some of the key performance indicators that the council and partners monitor to ensure that the housing strategy is working by improving service standards and achieving our plans. The table indicates current and past performance (2004/05 and 2003/04) and future targets. 2004/05 actual figures are subject to audit.
Best Value Performance Indicators BVPI 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Definition actual actual target target target BV 2a The equality standard for local government in England 2 2 2 3 No Target (Est.) Set BV 62 The proportion of unfit private sector dwellings made fit or demolished 5.33% 3.94% Discontinued as a direct result of action by the local authority BV 63 The average standard assessment performance (SAP) rating of local 63 63 66 66 66 authority owned dwellings BV 64 The number of private sector vacant dwellings that are returned into 40 25 46 49 50 occupation or demolished as a direct result of action by the local authority BV 66a Rent collected by the local authority as a proportion of rents owed on 96.62% 96.66% 98.10% 98.30% 98.50% Housing Revenue Account (HRA) dwellings BV 74a The percentage of all council tenants, or a representative sample of 77% Not Not 88% Not council tenants, stating that they are satisfied with the overall service undertaken undertaken undertaken provided by their landlord when surveyed. this year this year this year BV 74b Satisfaction of ethnic minority local authority tenants (excluding white 73% Not Not 88% Not minority tenants) with the overall service provided by their landlord undertaken undertaken undertaken this year this year this year
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BVPI 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Definition actual actual target target target BV 74c Satisfaction of non-ethnic minority local authority tenants with the 76% Not Not 88% Not overall service provided by their landlord undertaken undertaken undertaken this year this year this year
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BVPI 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Definition actual actual target target target BV 75a Satisfaction of council housing tenants with opportunities for 62% Not Not 88% Not participation in management and decision making in relation to housing undertaken undertaken undertaken services provided by their landlord this year this year this year BV 75b Satisfaction of ethnic minority council housing tenants (excluding white 64% Not Not 88% Not minority) with their opportunities for participation in management and undertaken undertaken undertaken decision-making in relation to housing services provided by their landlord this year this year this year BV 75c Satisfaction of non-ethnic minority council housing tenants with their 61% Not Not 88% Not opportunities for participation in management and decision making in undertaken undertaken undertaken relation to housing services provided by their landlord this year this year this year BV106 Percentage of new homes built on previously developed land 84% 70% 63% 47% 39% BV 164 Does Charnwood The Council meet the Commission for Racial Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Equality’s code of good practice in rented housing? BV 183a The average length of stay in Bed and Breakfast accommodation of 4.71 weeks 5.32 weeks 2 weeks 1 week 1 week households which include dependent children or a pregnant woman which are unintentionally homeless and in priority need BV 183b The average length of stay in hostel accommodation of household which 0 weeks 0 weeks No Target Set No Target No Target include dependent children or a pregnant woman which are Set Set unintentionally homeless and in priority need BV 184a The proportion of local authority dwellings which were non-decent on 39% 37% 37% 33% 30% 1st April BV 184b The percentage change in the proportion of non-decent dwellings 5% 5.1% 10.8% 9.1% 13.3% between the start and the end of the financial year BV 202 The number of people sleeping rough on a single night within the area of New PI from 2 10 10 10 the authority 1.4.05 BV 203 The percentage change in the average number of families placed in New PI from 15% 15% 12% 12% temporary accommodation 1.4.05 BV 126 Domestic burglaries per year, per 1,000 households in the Local 15.4 11.6 12 11 No Target Authority area Set
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PI 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Definition actual actual target target target BV The percentage of all current council tenants owing over 13 weeks rent 5.4% 4.55% 4.32% No Target No Target LPI 5 at 31st March (excluding those owing less than £250) Set Set BV The proportion of homelessness applications on which the authority 86.92% 84.82% 96.00% 97.00% 98.00% LPI7 makes a decision and issues written notification to the applicant within 33 working days BV The average re-let time for council owned dwellings let in the financial 85.94 55.43 25 25 25 LPI8 year (days) BV The % of urgent repairs completed within government time limits Figures Figures 99% 99% No Target LPI 12 unavailable unavailable Set CPS23 Percentage satisfaction of completed repairs 87% (Est.) Figures 92% 95% No Target unavailable Set PSA 7 By 2010 all social housing into decent condition with most of this No No No No No improvement taking place in deprived areas and increase the proportion information information information information information of private housing in decent condition occupied by vulnerable groups LPSA 8 Number of landlords accredited No No No No No information information information information information
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Performance Management Framework
Strategy Review and Evaluation
Regional Housing Board Regional Housing Strategy
Local Strategic Partnership Community Plan and Vision Strategic Level Programme level Monitoring Monitoring Housing Strategy Steering Housing Strategy and Vision Group Project management Strategy development Pledges and Best Value Programme spend Charnwood Borough Council Strategy integration Performance Plan Output measurement Outcome measurement Housing Services Directorate Service Plan
Housing Services Team Team Action Plan
Individual Staff Appraisal and Training Plan
Strategy Review and Evaluation Customer satisfaction
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Appendix 3 – Options Appraisal
Aim 1 - Sustainable Communities Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Range of Should we do more to influence Due to the breath of the definition Affordable the type and tenure? of affordable housing the Council Housing will aim to ensure accommodation
(Priority 2) through S106, and Enabling Grant 24 meets the needs of the Borough and doesn’t simply meet the broad definition set by Government. Transport and If we sort out quality transport, Any new developments on the Local Services leisure, schools etc will the local plan will only take place on
housing take care of itself? already developed transport routes. Leisure Do we need to provide more S106 agreements are increasingly Facilities facilities/opportunities to promote requesting leisure facilities. active, inclusive and safe Children & Young Person’s communities? Strategy takes this up at a Corporate level. Rural Issues Do we need to put more effort The Council has already identified (Priority 1) into sustainable rural communities this as a priority and the Rural before many of the rural Housing Enabler is part funded by 32 population have no choice to the Council. move into urban areas to find affordable housing? Neighbourhood Are these a key tool for The three existing estate based Wardens community cohesion and should neighbourhood wardens have the scheme be expanded? been deemed value for money and incorporated within mainstream funding. The Council is reviewing the current schemes in relation to possible expansion. Student Are parts of Loughborough This priority will be addressed Housing becoming seasonal communities through the implementation of the 13 (Priority 3) with an exodus during the Student SPD. summer? Should we be tackling it? Brownfield Is it good practice to encourage PPG3 refers to best use of Sites/Change of the use of former industrial land Brownfield Land. Regional Spatial Use for housing or will we end up with Strategy includes a policy which no employment opportunities seeks to achieve this across the within communities? region. The Local Plan makes provision for 47% of Brownfield developments up to 2006. Prioritise Non- How big a part of sustainable Council are producing a Climate housing communities are the bricks and Strategy to look at Sustainability Matters mortar? issues. Modern Houses Do we need to try and influence Market is best positioned to for Modern design to include home offices, respond to the demand for Lives broadband, etc.? modern houses/facilities. Empty Homes Should we tackle homes in key There has been significant success areas first? in the reduction of Empty Homes and numbers are seen to be manageable rather than tackling priority areas. Wider Should open spaces be prioritised The Local Plan already Environment over density? acknowledges the need to prioritise Brownfield open
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development, whilst sensitively identifying Greenfield sites and maintaining the balance between new housing provision and open spaces. Flooding Risk Should we introduce more Adequate measures in place.
preventative measures?
Aim 2 - Balanced Housing Markets Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Key-workers Is housing a problem for key- It is widely acknowledged that (Priority 3) workers in Charnwood? sustainable communities require a high quality public sector ensuring 7 the best nurses, teachers and policeman are able to access affordable accommodation within the Borough. Students Is more specialist student Measures are already being put in accommodation needed in place through the Student SPD Loughborough to reduce pressure (to be implemented during 2005),
on the private rented sector in which will address the general? accommodation needs of students. Size and Type Should the Council seek to There is a general concern that of New Homes influence the size and type of new builders are favouring larger more (Priority 1) 29 homes provided in the private profitable homes when the need sector in order to better balance is for smaller family homes. markets? Research Is more research needed to A Borough Housing Market identify housing market pressures Assessment has been undertaken and trends? in 2005. The Council will also participate in the forthcoming Countywide HMA. Perception of Could the private sector meet The Council have already put Tenures more needs if perceptions measures in place to begin to changed? utilise the use of private sector accommodation. Monitoring of the likely impact of the forthcoming HB flat rate allowance will be undertaken. Provision for an Do we have sufficient/adequate Although there is an adequate Ageing provision? supply of elderly accommodation, Population there is a mismatch between 17 (Priority 2) supply and demand. This needs to be addressed to maximise the use of stock and revenue.
Aim 3 - Affordable Housing Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Increase Target Does need justify increasing the There is clear evidence that the (Priority 2) affordable housing requirement current threshold on affordable on new developments? housing through S106 17 agreements combined with Housing Corporation funded development in the Borough is falling short of the affordable
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requirement. The new SPD will give the Council the opportunity to address this. Focus on Rent Should rented housing be sought The Council has a statutory duty in preference to other tenures to homeless households and (such as shared ownership, therefore needs to ensure restricted floor space dwellings sufficient accommodation is for sale, etc.)? made available. Recent increases in house prices, which far outweigh the increases in earnings, have exacerbated the affordability problem. Increase in the threshold for affordable housing should address this. Maximise Is maximising the number of Negotiations are based on up- Numbers affordable properties more dated evidence based research. important than obtaining The 2005 HMA and DBA should particular sizes and types of assist this process. property? Rural Sites Should more emphasis be given This is something already to obtaining new affordable identified as a priority. The housing in rural areas? Council fund the Countywide Rural Housing Enabler to research rural needs. Specialist How important is it to seek Support services are already in Provision specialist provision for vulnerable place for a number of specific (Priority 3) 6 people such as elderly people, client groups as well as generic disabled people and those from tenancy support. BME backgrounds? Council Funding Should the provision of new The provision of Enabling Grant affordable housing be a high is envisaged as a method to bring priority when the Council added value to projects which
allocates its limited funds? otherwise would not be viable, and where a specific benefit would be achieved. More flexibility Is there sufficient choice – are we Evidence to ensure sufficient in Housing meeting needs? provision/ flexibility will be 24 Provision providing through the Borough (Priority 1) and Countywide HMAs.
Aim 4 - Decent Homes Priority No of Possible Action Votes Rationale Decent Homes Meeting the DH Standard? This is a Government Standard requirement. A recent SOA has (Priority 1) identified the most appropriate 19 option to ensure the Council meets the Decent Homes Standard. Charnwood Is DH standard high enough? Stakeholders felt they would Standard rather accept the current Decent Homes Standard because of the
support they gave to the Council retaining ownership of the stock through an ALMO. Vulnerable Should vulnerable private tenants Differing funding streams means Private Tenants take precedence over social that there is no need to prioritise
tenants? one above the other. The Council is currently on target to
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achieve Decent Homes in the private sector and will continue to promote grants to encourage private owners to bring their properties up to the Decent Homes Standard. Lower Running Improvements which produce By prioritising the “thermal Costs (Priority lower running costs for tenants. comfort” element of the Decent 2) Homes Standard the Council is 11 able to make a positive impact on affordable warmth at the same time. Replace Should we sell off non-decent low Demand for social housing within demand stock, i.e. is it worth the Borough is linked more to
making PRC’s decent? property types and locations rather than construction types. Logical/Priority Should we tackle all tenures on A cross tenure approach to areas Area Approach estate-by-estate basis? of highest need/deprivation will to works 5 revitalise all tenures encouraging (Priority 3) sustainable communities whilst targeting Decent Homes. Low Income Do low-income owner-occupiers Widening of qualification criteria Owner need assistance? for the Homes Repair Assistance Occupiers Grant will increase the number of eligible low-income owner- occupiers. Empty Should we address decency issues Private sector empty homes are Properties across all housing stock not covered under the current Decent Homes Standard and statutory targets should be met in the first instance. Asylum Seekers Is there an additional need for Given the short period of time and Refugees accommodation for Asylum Asylum Seekers are given to Seekers within the Borough? secure alternative accommodation following a positive decision, it is important to try and monitor those entering the private sector to ensure homes are of an adequate standard. Travellers Are we meeting the needs of this Although Gypsies & Travellers group i.e. site provision? who settle into traditional static homes will be covered by the Decent Homes Standard,
caravans are outside the definition. A wider definition will be required if we are to address the needs of this group.
Aim 5 - Affordable Warmth Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Vulnerable Should we target particular Fuel poverty in particular is Groups groups with assistance? inextricably linked to income and
so vulnerable groups are likely to be particularly fuel poor. High Quality Are we providing value for High quality workmanship Maintenance 14 money? coupled with high quality (Priority 1) materials ensures that repair
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work removes problems at the first instance and minimises unnecessary expense to the householder. Energy Efficiency Buy in bulk and sell them cheap. Although such measures can have Shop Light bulbs and insulation. a real positive impact on energy consumption to make real
inroads into fuel poverty and SAP ratings a more structural approach is needed. Particular i.e. Victorian terraces The ad-hoc way in which Property Types different tenures have approached refurbishment means
there is less of a clear cut link between property type and SAP rating etc. Energy Advice Encourage people to change life Like discounted energy efficient style rather than encouraging goods, education on energy remedial works? efficiency can lead to a reduction
in energy use but a basic property standard is still required. Income Fuel poverty relationship between Ensuring maximum take up of Maximisation income and expenditure on benefits, winter fuel payments, heating? etc, can reduce the number of fuel poor households It is
essential that this is coupled with reduced energy use to meet other objectives such as reducing climate change. Discount Encourage dual fuel discount, try Leicestershire & Schemes and find preferred supplier? Northamptonshire Energy Efficient Advice Centre provides general advice on suppliers/billing. Improving Do we meet SAP requirements? Loft insulation is a very cost Insulation effective way of increasing energy (Priority 2) efficiency. Ensuring adequate 7 insulation is targeted at those without can make an impact on the average SAP rating in the Borough. Integrating Encourage higher eco standards The Draft SPD “Leading in energy efficiency in planning applications? Design” includes elements measures into relating to increased energy new build efficiency and the use of sustainable materials. Energy Efficient Improve energy efficient By considering efficiency along Appliances appliances. with cost when procuring heating (Priority 3) systems the Council can maximise affordable warmth 6 throughout the housing stock whilst improving the BVPI 63 average SAP rating of Council owned dwellings.
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Aim 6 - Healthy Homes Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Health Are we targeting vulnerable Poor housing and poor health Inequalities groups? are inextricably linked. Many of (Priority 2) 8 the most socially excluded are in poor housing and have difficulty in accessing healthcare. Sure-Start Should we help fund an extension Government is targeting the of the scheme or bid for more allocation of resources to govt resources? designated areas. Health Checks Health Checks utilising external The health and housing risk (Priority 3) funding. assessment toolkit provides an innovative approach to assessing the health implications of 4 accommodation far more effectively than traditional assessment models allowing a far more robust assessment of peoples housing needs. Bed Blocking Do we need to prioritise This issue is already being works/allocations to enable addressed through the review of people to move out of hospital? the allocations policy. Adaptations Should we do more to enable The Council has already people to remain in their own developed a database of adapted homes? properties and are utilising its
Enabling Grant to enhance new provision of adapted/purpose built properties. Improve Health Have regard to health through The development process can through Planning development control polices assist in healthy homes both Mechanisms through encouraging appropriate (Priority 1) developments in appropriate areas to maximise benefit of current infrastructure, whilst 13 ensuring new developments provide new health services where appropriate. Also have regard to healthy housing assessment through planning such as aeroplane flight paths. Security Mental health can be particularly By addressing security matters Facilities vulnerable as a result of feeling both mental health issues can be insecure? addressed whilst also contributing to another the community safety priorities. Overcrowding Should we aim to tackle through The Affordable Housing large home programmes, assisting Programme seeks to provide a
concealed households? range of accommodation to meet the needs of the Borough. Supported Ensure we are able to meet the A number of successful tenancy Housing needs of the community. support schemes are already in place within the Borough.
Further implications due to Supporting People Funding restrictions on future provision. Design/Lifetime Make Lifetime Homes standard a Rather than focusing on one Homes priority? group of vulnerable people, stakeholders were of the opinion
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that Priority One ‘improve health through planning’ would assist a far wider group of vulnerable people. Reduction in Renewal works to Council Links into energy efficiency Winter Deaths homes/grants to other tenures? advice. National indicators in place to monitor excess winter
mortality. Decent Homes Standards across all tenures also addresses this. Provision of Ensure we meet needs of Progression of Decent Homes in Suitable Heating vulnerable groups? all tenures. Promotion of energy advice via the Leicestershire & Northamptonshire Energy Advice Centre. Joint Working Should we look at community The Charnwood Health Forum is working with PCT? the partnership established to
co-ordinate health interests in the Borough.
Aim 7 - Community Safety Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Designing Out Estate works, etc. By having regard to issues such Crime (Priority as natural surveillance when 2) designing estates the opportunities for crime can be 11 greatly reduced. There are also remedial works that can have profound effects on poorly designed estates. Handy Van Extend scope of scheme? Practical and economical way of providing effective yet
straightforward measures to targeted groups. Youth Services Do we need more to keep our Developing a Youth Strategy for youths out of trouble? Council Housing Estates was a priority which was carried over from the previous strategy. This will now be considered as part of the Corporate ‘Children & Young Persons’ Strategy. Problematic If we try and help problematic Support schemes in place to Drug Use drug users will it have knock on assist vulnerable groups. effect to other issues such as Charnwood Community Safety
burglary? Partnership has identified acquisitive crime and drug misuse as one of its strategic priorities. Community Improve communication to Charnwood Community Safety Development promote the prevention of ASB Partnership has identified the and Engagement need to ‘protect and reassure (Priority 3) the community’ as a strategic 9 aim. Actions include encouraging preventative measures, community cohesion, victim & witness support and diversionary activities. ASB (Priority 7) More resources into tackling anti- ASB can have a fundamental 18 social behaviour? impact on estates. Effective
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timely intervention can increase the quality of life for a large number of residents. Within its landlord function the Council has a statutory obligation to deal with ASB. Burglary Smart Water, UV pens, etc. Highly publicised security Reduction schemes like the recent Smartwater promotion have a significant impact on one of the most intrusive of crimes. Priority Tackling particular groups causing This will be addressed through Offenders neighbourhood problems. the countywide multi-agency Prolific Priority Offender Management Partnership. Sanctuary Helping victims of DV remain This is an important scheme but Scheme their own homes. will only be able to assist a small number of individuals. Avoiding “sink Intensive resources to stop the RICS identified triggers of urban estates” decline of borderline states. decline where timely intervention could dramatically reduce the cost of remedial action.
Aim 8 - Homelessness Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Day Centre One stop drop in for health care, As one of the most marginalized advice support etc for homeless and socially excluded groups in people. society the homeless have difficulty accessing a wide range
of services. A one-stop shop could increase take-up of access to services such as benefits and healthcare. Hostel (Priority Direct access emergency Lack of direct access hostel 2) accommodation. accommodation within the 22 Borough, particularly for single homeless and rough sleepers. Prevention Should we be getting more Wherever possible it is better to Measures innovative and follow the spend prevent homelessness rather (Priority 1) 27 to save model more closely? than deal with it after the event and it can be a much more efficient use of resources. Asylum Seekers Ensure suitable support schemes Asylum Seekers are currently and Refugees are available. supported by NASS. New Bill does open opportunity for Council to provide section 4 support. For refugees it is important to ensure sufficient support due to often complex needs and difficulties-lack of support mechanisms, etc. Non-priority Assist into housing Because of statutory duties the groups majority of resources for homelessness are fed towards families with children and priority singles. However the purpose of homelessness strategies and reviews was to ensure a joined
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up homelessness service for all the community although non- priority applicants often have less opportunities Mediation Try to resolve conflict that leads Mediation scheme already in to homelessness. operation within the Borough,
prioritising vulnerable young people. Empty Homes Make best use of available By encouraging owners of empty Procedure resources. homes to bring them back into use through incentives to put
them into the private sector can increase available homes for homeless. Joint Working Improve inter-agency working Partnership working is essential (Priority 3) with common aims and resources to tackle the complex needs of some individuals which housing 17 alone is not able to resolve. There is an increasing emphasis on a partnership approach when bidding for additional resources. Access to private RDG scheme, or bond bank? Private Sector Leasing Scheme is rent scheme already in operation. Health Services Are there sufficient services, The Charnwood Health Forum is Walk In Centre? the partnership established to co-ordinate health interests in the Borough and explores Health
and Homelessness issues. Homelessness Strategy has identified this as an area to progress. Specialist Is there adequate provision? Specialist Resettlement Worker Resettlement in post part funded by the Worker Council and the ODPM. Travellers Providing adequate provision for Countywide joint working party travelling communities. for the provision of transit sites will explore this issue. Rough Sleepers Provide services particularly Provision of direct access hostel targeting rough sleepers, either should help to meet some of the through outreach or hostel. needs of this group (Priority 2).
Aim 9 - Support and Sustainment Priority No of Possible Action Rationale Votes Floating Support Should this be the main model of Floating tenancy support provision as opposed to fixed schemes are considered the best
support in specialist use of resources to meet the accommodation? needs of vulnerable people. Fixed Support More specialist supported Although there has been an (Priority 2) accommodation for different increase of floating support 18 needs? schemes there is still a shortage of specialist fixed support schemes. Specialist Individually tailored support. Generic support will meet the Support (Priority basic support needs of vulnerable 1) 20 people, however, those with more complex needs may require more specialist provision. Generic Should we take one-model fits all Generic support will meet the
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approach for maximum flexibility? basic support needs of vulnerable people, however, those with more complex needs may require more specialist provision. Young People Anecdotally, relatively high level ODPM and the Council jointly of tenancy failure? fund the provision of a Specialist Resettlement Worker and Mediation Worker which primarily target this group. The Council has adopted a Children and Young Person’s Strategy. Effective Joint Promote joint working and Partnership working is essential Working harness resources. to tackle the complex needs of 1 (Priority 3) some individuals which housing alone is not able to resolve. Learning Increase provision for The Council facilitates the Disabilities independent living. Charnwood Housing Sub-group to address housing issues affecting people with Learning Disabilities. Money Advice Underpinning ability to cope. A high number of housing related problems have a financial element. This service is currently delivered through the Citizens Advice Bureau. Life-Skills Beyond housing related support. Existing support services incorporate key elements of Life- Skills. Community Strategy addresses this through its strategic aim ‘Improving Learning, Skills and Employability’, but this falls outside of housing remit. Community Is getting people involved in Two-pronged approach through Involvement community as useful for existing support schemes and the
sustainment as providing support Community Strategy. through our schemes? DV Outreach Do we need to increase capacity Current funding is capped. The Worker for this service? Council is currently meeting the shortfall in resources. Mediation Is provision sufficient? Do we Current funding is capped. The Scheme need to expand i.e Council is currently meeting the neighbourhood disputes? shortfall in resources. Charnwood Shelter Project progressing bid for trainee mediation worker with the aim of expanding the service. Family Support Is provision sufficient? Current funding is capped. The Worker Council is currently meeting the shortfall in resources. Rural Service Are we too Loughborough Many of the support services for centric? the Borough as a whole are based in Loughborough despite only a third of the population residing there.
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Appendix 4 Good Practice Case Studies
Case Study 1 New Affordable Housing in Quorn
The Scenario • Quorn is an attractive village of 5,000 people with some of the highest house prices in Charnwood. • The Borough-wide Housing Needs Survey identified a high level of concealed households in the area. • A Village Housing Need Survey, conducted by the Leicestershire Rural Housing Enabler and sponsored by the Borough and Parish Councils, confirms that need in detail. • There are few existing affordable homes in Quorn. • There is little land available for development and land values in the village are very high.
How the partnership is moving forward An informal partnership has developed between the Council, Quorn Parish Council and East Midlands Housing Association (EMHA) with the aim of providing more affordable homes in Quorn. The partnership also involves Leicestershire County Council and Leicestershire Rural Housing Association.
A potential site for 8 houses and 4 flats has been identified. It is owned by the County Council but earmarked for structural landscaping in the Local Plan. Plans Committee is being asked to agree a departure from the Local Plan for affordable housing only. The County Council is willing to sell the site at a price well below the value of unencumbered development land. The Council is contributing ‘Enabling Grant’ and EMHA is drawing on internal resources to fund the scheme. It is also expected to attract funds from the Housing Corporation.
EMHA has produced plans for the site and these have been presented to local people at a public exhibition organised by the Parish Council. Once completed, Leicestershire Rural Housing Association will manage the scheme on EMHA’s behalf. There will be a local lettings policy which will give preference to applicants with Quorn connections or a need to live in the village.
Case Study 2 Warwick Way Estate
The Scenario • The Warwick Way Estate comprises 155 two storey houses and 24 low-rise flats, located in the northern suburbs of Loughborough. The estate is bounded by major roads on the western and northern sides. To the south of the estate is inter-war mixed residential development, including a small caravan park. A larger caravan park is surrounded on three sides by the estate. To the north are more modern residential estates. A ‘sense of imprisonment’ characterises the estate. • The estate is designed on “Radburn” principles which seek to separate pedestrian and vehicular movement. However, some of the alleys were closed off and as a consequence there are no clear routes through the northern part of the estate. The main access to housing courts is through a back land area lacking any sense of place and vulnerable to fly tipping and other anti-social behaviour. • The estate has one of the highest turn over of tenants in the borough; with properties being extremely difficult to let. • Large pockets of deprivation exist on the estate. Unemployment is high and there are many single parent families, above average levels of benefit dependency and a high child density. • There is no obvious community focal point, such as a community centre and there are no shops or schools on the estate. • Data analysis revealed disproportionately high levels of criminal damage to council properties.
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• Consultation exercises with the community revealed significant under reporting of anti-social behaviour issues due to witness fear and intimidation.
How the partnership is moving forward A multi agency group was formed, made up of practitioners from the CDRP member agents. Their role was to adopt an holistic approach, taking account of prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation, to deliver a sustainable solution to the issues affecting the estate.
The multi-agency group consists of Charnwood The Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator, Housing Manager, Cleansing Manager, Tenancy Participation Officer and Community Safety Officer; the local Police Commander; local Beat Officer; Crime Prevention Officer; Ward Councillor; Community Development Co-ordinator and Primary Care Trust representative.
An enforcement drive was considered an urgent requirement to bring immediate relief to local residents and to improve public confidence in the authority’s ability to respond. However, witness fear and intimidation was a major stumbling block to effective intervention. Significant time and effort was spent liaising with the local community establishing witness support teams across the estate, empowering individuals to make a stand. The Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator worked closely with the Police and Housing teams to enforce tenancy conditions; evicting key perpetrators of anti-social behaviour and obtaining emergency injunctions and anti-social behaviour orders, to protect witnesses until other proceedings were complete. This enforcement work culminated in a successful group ASBO application, against 8 key individuals. In the six months following the introduction of these orders, incident reporting had dropped by 88% and crime by 45 %.
Progress was being made and public confidence was growing. ‘Neighbourhood Learning’ funding had been secured to employ a community engagement worker and it is hoped that additional funding will be identified to continue this valuable work.
An urban Master Plan was commissioned to provide a ‘liveability’ dimension to the partnership working. It depicted the physical changes required within the estate to create special public spaces that encourage positive interaction and a sense of pride. It also looked at ways of minimising crime, fly tipping and ways of incorporating constructive play spaces for the young people. Mainstream funding within ‘Housing’ was directed towards the recommendations made in the master plan and further consideration is being given to other emerging initiatives.
Work continues in the area with additional initiatives having been identified, which support the Charnwood Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy. Further consultation with residents and stakeholders is under way in consideration of other community needs. In addition Funding has also been secured to employ a community engagement officer who will provide support in linking relevant individuals and agencies together.
Case Study 3 Leicestershire Safe at Home Scheme - Handy Van
The Scenario The Handy Van scheme operates in Charnwood, Hinckley and Bosworth and North West Leicestershire. The primary objective of the scheme is to make older people’s homes more safe and secure, thus reducing the risk of burglary and providing peace of mind.
How the partnership is moving forward Working jointly with Care & Repair (West Leicestershire Ltd), Help the Aged, North West Leicester District Council and Hinckley & Bosworth District Council, a Handy Van scheme was introduced in 2004 to provide home security measures to all over 60’s.
The scheme, which has been financed through the Charnwood Community Safety Partnership, is now administered by Care and Repair and has provided improvements for 171 residents in its first year of operation.
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Case Study 4 Student Accommodation Accreditation Scheme
The Scenario Loughborough has a large and growing student population many of whom choose to live off campus in private rented accommodation. There are approximately 1000 shared houses let to students mainly in one area of Loughborough. Historically this was in areas of cheaper housing where the quality of the housing was low. In an effort to drive up standards and introduce competition amongst housing providers a Student Housing Accreditation Scheme was launched.
How the partnership is moving forward In co-operation with Loughborough University Accommodation Services and in consultation with Leicestershire Constabulary and Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service, an accreditation scheme has been set up to monitor and secure standards in the growing number of houses let to students. As a prerequisite of using the University letting services all houses offered must be accredited and there are now 258 on the scheme. Membership requires not only that the property be fit and in good repair but also that it is suitably equipped and of sufficient size to meet the needs of tenants. Houses are also required meet a higher level of fire safety than is Statutorily required.
In order to progress the scheme – making it more appealing to students – and in line with the coming changes in legislation, a ‘two tier’ inspection procedure will be adopted in the future. Firstly a local authority fitness inspection under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and HMO legislation will be carried out, followed by a further visit from Accommodation Services – concentrating on improved standards in the facilities/ furnishings etc. provided for students.
Case Study 5 Responding to Disability
Scenario Due to the ageing profile of council owned homes most homes will require some form of improvement/adaptation to accommodate wheelchair users. Where stock has been adapted, the Council has developed a database and matching service to meet the needs of individuals and make best use of its stock, however, due to individual needs suitable properties cannot always be found. To address this issue the Council also use its own Enabling Grant to assist with funding of building projects. This is particularly useful where an individual has specific needs and may benefit from purpose built accommodation.
How the partnership is moving forward The Council has been assisting a tenant with a medical condition which affects their mobility and causes considerable weight gain. The tenant and their family currently live in a three bedroom semi- detached house. The property is unsuitable to adapt to meet the family’s long-term needs and no other suitable property has been found.
A suitable development opportunity arose utilising a former council-owned garage site, which had become derelict and subject to fly tipping. The Council agreed to transfer the site to a RSL at nil costs to facilitate the development of seven bungalows. Following negotiations with a RSL the Council agreed to transfer the site at nil cost and provide an Enabling Grant of £360,000 to assist in a revised development of six bungalows, including a larger wheelchair friendly bungalow for the tenant.
A number of planning meetings between the various agencies have been held to discuss the specific requirements of the tenant. Planning Permission was granted in 2004 and a completion date has been set for November 2005.
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Case Study 6 Homelessness Grant Funding
The Scenario The Council has a duty to provide assistance to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness within the Borough. The Council must continually work to reduce and prevent homelessness within the Borough and improve the services available to those who are homeless. The Council and its partners produced a Homelessness Strategy in July 2003 to tackle the causes of homelessness within the Borough.
How the partnership is moving forward There has been close collaboration between the Council and its partners, The Charnwood Shelter Project, Loughborough Women’s Aid and Loughborough Nightstop (CIYA), in reducing the use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for families with children, sustaining the reduction in rough sleeping and implementing the Council’s Homelessness Strategy.
The Council and its partners have been successful in securing ODPM Homelessness Grant Funding totalling £74,000 for the financial year 2005/6 to promote new and innovative services to tackle homelessness more effectively.
On a local level the Homelessness Grant Allocation has seen the introduction of four projects to assist in the implementation of Charnwood’s Homelessness Strategy. The Charnwood Shelter Project manages three of the four projects:
• Specialist Resettlement Worker to provide intensive support to help young people who have been excluded from accessing social housing; • Mediation Worker to assist individuals, particularly young people, to resolve family issues and prevent homelessness; and • Family Support Worker to provide additional resettlement and tenancy support services for vulnerable families. • Loughborough Women’s Aid provides a Domestic Violence Outreach Worker to provide information and support to women and men who are, or have experienced domestic violence.
The four projects will continue to play an important role in working towards the Governments aims and in delivering locally agreed positive outcomes, the results of which are now being seen through reductions in homeless acceptances. The Council and its partners will continue to invest in homeless prevention and improve housing supply to enable more people to be helped before they become homeless and sustain reductions in homelessness acceptances in the longer term.
Case Study 7 Homeless Prevention & Support Services
Charnwood Shelter Project is an umbrella charity which works with homeless and vulnerably housed people. There are several services offered: Bridge Housing Advice Centre, Supported Tenancy and Resettlement Service, Education in schools, Mediation for young people and their families, and an annual Christmas Shelter.
Mediation Service:
• Aims to reduce young people becoming homeless through family breakdown, which can lead to the young person leaving home in a crisis or unplanned way.
The Mediation Service has worked with prevention officers in the housing needs department to develop and improve the referral of young people who present as homeless to the Council. Monthly meetings have been set up with the aim to keep the service progressing. The meetings involve informal training from both services, which promotes better understanding of their individual roles.
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The meetings have helped to improve several issues including emergency referrals and monitoring outcomes. An outcome of the meeting has been an involvement in the education project that CSP administer. The education project aims to teach young people (year 10 and 11) about youth homelessness and raise awareness of where to find help. A prevention officer was able to co-facilitate an education session at Rawlins Community College, and the mediation service, together with the prevention officer are hoping to develop a further session for year 11 students to involve information from the Council.
Supported Tenancy and Resettlement Team:
• Aims to reduce repeat homelessness and assist vulnerable people to sustain tenancies.
This service has been running for 3 years, during this time monthly and quarterly monitoring meetings have been held with Tenancy and Welfare department. Through these meeting a joint approach to monitoring outcomes has been achieved. A quarterly form is completed and returned to the Principal Housing Officer (Projects) for the Council to monitor the use of the service. Recently there has been joint working between the rent department and the service to try and monitor rent levels of people using the service, which will assist the service to measure the outcomes of support more accurately. The Bridge Housing Advice Centre, START and the rent department have also agreed a referral system for tenants who are at threat of being evicted, to ensure they are able to access advice, and longer term support if necessary.
Case Study 8 Real Life Examples
Real life examples of how the strategy has changed as a result of input from stakeholders/residents.
Housing Strategy Priorities The Housing Strategy priorities were developed with stakeholders at the Housing Consultation Event in February 2005. A number of priorities originally proposed by the Council can be found in Appendix 3. Following evaluation by our stakeholders at the Consultation Event, three priorities arising out of each aim were ranked in order of importance. This ensures that our partners and stakeholders wholly adopt these as the priorities for Charnwood’s Housing Strategy.
Action Plan As part of the consultation process consideration was given to the Action Plan for the Housing Strategy. Following considerable discussions the draft version was amended to reflect actions which reflect improvements, were achievable within the most likely resources, and which could be used to best effect i.e. how do they meet wider strategic priorities and legislative requirements. Examples of changes brought about following evaluation of the draft included, inclusion of key BVPI indicators and the addition of a column identifying the strategic fit of the priority/action.
Housing Strategy Digest Consultation with a range of stakeholders, including a number of ‘critical friends’, who were used to review the document highlighted the need for a smaller more edited and accessible version of the main strategy to identify the key messages quickly. As a direct result of this the Council has produced a Housing Strategy Digest which will enable the reader to obtain a clear summary of the main points and information on references on how to access more detailed information. Drafts of these digests were then presented to CCLATA to ensure that tenants and leaseholders felt they presented the information in an accessible way.
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Appendix 5 Housing Strategy Consultation Framework
Activity Timescale How this informs the Housing Strategy Example in 2004/5 Analysis of primary research, Continuous throughout Informs revisions to the strategic objectives, Housing Needs Survey (Desktop Update) 2005, performance the year Options Appraisal and action plan Dwelling Balance Analysis (2005) and Housing Information and Best Value Reviews Market Assessment determined prioritisations of work
Housing Strategy Steering Group Quarterly throughout the Informs revisions to the strategy and Discussions surrounding Housing Needs Update year identifies issues for discussion 2005 informed the development of the Supplementary Planning Document on Affordable Housing. Confirmed milestones and targets set out in Action Plan Housing Strategy Consultation Event February 2005 Informs revisions to the strategy and Identified options and priorities for the identifies issues for discussion development of the strategy, including the prioritisation of work by considering the contribution each could make to the local community Consultation with ward councillors and Extensive period of Identifies issues requiring additional Prioritisation of work to determine the aspirational residents at each Community consultation between coverage in the strategy ‘Charnwood Standard’ of council housing within the Committee panels and with council June 2004 – May 2005 Borough and the preferred option for the tenants and leaseholders through the which began with the management of council housing stock Housing Options Review process formation of the Stock Options Appraisal Steering Group Formal consideration of the Housing Performance, Considers and approves final submission Members and key stakeholders have had the Strategy by the Cabinet, Overview and Management & Scrutiny opportunity to consider the themes and priorities Scrutiny Commission and by Full Council Committee – March 2005 arising out of the Housing Strategy Consultation Cabinet – March 2005 Event. The Strategy has been amended to reflect Cabinet – June 2005 Cabinet & Members contributions Performance and Audit
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Scrutiny Committee – July 2005 Cabinet – July 2005
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List of Invitees to Charnwood Local Strategic Partnership Housing Strategy Consultation Event February 2005
Abbey National Plc Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Abbeyfield Chairman of Beeby Parish Meeting ACERT Chairman of Swithland Parish Meeting Action for a Better Charnwood / Environment Chairman of Wanlip Parish Meeting Network Chapman Warren Advance Housing and Support Charnwood & North West Leicestershire Age Concern PCT All Saints Resident Association Charnwood Arts Allsop Verrill Charnwood Bangladeshi Society Andrew Granger & Co Charnwood Borough Council Andrew Martin Associates Charnwood Carers Forum Anstey Parish Council Charnwood Community Council Anstey Parish Plan Group Charnwood Council for Voluntary Service Anstey Scene Charnwood Disability Forum Arriva Midlands Charnwood Ethnic Minority Forum Arts Council England (East Midlands Arts) Charnwood Forest Housing Association Ashby Road Estates Community Association Charnwood Learning Disability Action Group ASRA Midlands Housing Assoc Ltd Charnwood Private Landlords Forum Association of Charnwood Tenants Charnwood Racial Equality Council Bangladesh Social Association Charnwood Shelter Project Bardon Parish Council Charnwood Sports Council Barkby Parish Council Charnwood Standing Committee for the Barratt East Midlands Limited Elderly Barrow upon Soar Parish Council Charnwood Tree Trust Barrow upon Soar Village Design Statement Chesterton Barrow Voice Christian Link BBC Radio Leicester Church Commissioners for England Beeby Parish Meeting Churches Together in Loughborough Bellway Homes (East Midlands) Civil Aviation Authority Belton Parish Council Classical Architecture Berry Commercial Cliff Walsingham & Company Birstall Parish Council Commission for Racial Equality Birstall Post Community Housing Task Force, ODPM Blaby District Council Connells Black Horse Agencies Connexions Leicester Shire Boots Properties plc Cossington Parish Council British Chemical Distributors & Traders Cossington Parish Plan Group Association Costock Parish Council British Gas Connections Ltd Country Landowners Association British Gas Properties Countrywide Homes British Geological Survey CPM Environmental Planning and Design Ltd British Telecommunications Plc CPRE Charnwood British Waterways CPRE Leicestershire Broughton & Dalby Parish Council Cunnane Town Planning Brown Jacobson Cycling Consultative Group Building Advice Centre Cyclist Touring Club Building Relationships Darmight Projects Limited Burleigh Community College David Wilson Estates Limited Burton on the Wolds Parish Plan Group De Montfort Housing Society Ltd Burton on the Wolds, Cotes and Prestwold De Montfort University Parish Council Department for Culture, Media & Sport Business Link Department for Environment, Food & Rural CABE Affairs Carter Jonas Department for Work & Pensions Central Networks Department of Constitutional Affairs Central Trains Derek Lovejoy Partnership
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Derwent Living Hathern Parish Council Design & Planning Consultant Hathern Village Appraisal Development Planning & Design Services Healey & Baker DHV Burrow Crocker Consulting Health & Safety Executive Disability Rights Commission Heart of England Tourist Board Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Help the Aged Committee Hewitson Becke & Shaw Dowling de Lisle Limited Hickling Parish Council Drug Action Team Highways Agency DTZ Debenham Thorpe Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council Dunn Line Hind Leys Community College E A Lane & Sons Hoby with Rotherby East Goscote Parish Council Holmes Antill East Goscote Parish Plan Home Office East Leake Parish Council Hoton Parish Council East Midlands Development Agency House Builders Federation - Eastern Region East Midlands Housing Association Housing 21 East Midlands Public Health Group Housing Corporation East Midlands Regional Assembly Housing Quality Network Eastern Leicester Primary Care Trust Howkins & Harrison Edge & Ellison Humphrey Perkins School Elsworth Sykes Planning Ideal Homes Midlands Limited Emmanuel, Loughborough and St Mary-in- J & J Design Charnwood, Nanpantan J S Bloor (Measham) Ltd. Engineering Employers Association James Bailey Planning English Heritage Jelson (Builders) Ltd. English Nature John German English Partnerships Keyham Parish Council Environment Agency Kinchbus Environment Network Kingston on Soar Parish Council Fairclough Homes Land Access & Recreation Association Faulks, Perry, Culley & Rech Landmark Planning Limited FCH Housing & Care Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust, Fearon Hall Community Association Leicester City Bus Fisher Hoggarth Leicester City Council Fishers Solicitors Leicester Diocesan Board of Finance Forestry Commission Leicester Family Housing Association Fox Bennett Leicester Housing Association FPDSavills Leicester Mercury Freeth Cartwright Leicester Sound Freight Transport Association Leicester Valuation Office Friends of Charnwood Forest Leicestershire & Rutland Ornithological Friends of the Earth Society G A Property Services Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Service Gaddesby Parish Council Leicestershire Bridleways Association Garendon Park Protection Group Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce & Geeta Bhawan Industry George Wimpey (East Midlands) Ltd. Leicestershire Constabulary Gerald Eve Leicestershire Constabulary - Architectural Glenfield Parish Council Liaison Gorse Covert Community Association Leicestershire County Council Government Office for the East Midlands Leicestershire Family Practitioner Committee Grapevine Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service Great Central Railway Leicestershire Footpaths Association Groby Parish Council Leicestershire Learning & Skills Council GVA Grimley Leicestershire Leicester & Rutland Sport Hallam Land Management Leicestershire Police Authority Halliwell Landau Leicestershire Social Services Hanover Housing Association Leicestershire Supporting People Team Harborough District Council
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Leics & Rutland Assoc of Parish & Local National Association of Shopfitters Councils National Express Group plc Leics & Rutland Rural Community Council National Farmers Union Leics & Rutland Trust for Nature National Forest Company Conservation National Grid Transco (Electricity) Leics County Auctioneers & Estate Agents National Grid Transco (Gas) Assoc National Market Traders Federation Life Skills National Playing Fields Association Lifeline for the Homeless Nesta Developments Design & Build Local Pensions Service Network Rail Long Whatton Parish Council Newtown Linford Parish Council Longcliffe Road Senior Citizens Club Newtown Linford Village Appraisal Longslade Community College Nicholas Allen Loughborough & District Civic Trust Normanton on Soar Parish Council Loughborough & District Consumer Group North British Housing Association Loughborough & District Cycle Users North West Leicestershire District Council Campaign Nottingham City Transport Loughborough Archaeological & Historical Nottingham Community Housing Association Society Nottingham East Midlands Airport Loughborough Chamber of Trade Nottinghamshire County Council Loughborough Chamber of Trade & Oadby & Wigston Borough Council Commerce Office of Communications Loughborough College Office of Government Commerce Loughborough Consultants Limited OPUN Regeneration East Midlands Loughborough Council of Faiths ORS Property Consultants Loughborough Echo PACE Loughborough Ecology Party Partnership for Employment Action in Loughborough Endowed Schools Charnwood Loughborough Jansari Centre Paul James Coaches Loughborough Meeting Rooms Trust PEACH Loughborough Mela Peacock & Smith Loughborough Naturalists Club Pedestrian Consultative Group Loughborough Older Persons Forum Persimmon Homes Ltd. Loughborough Students Union Pinsent & Co Loughborough University Planning Aid Service Loughborough Urban Forum Planning Bureau Loughborough Women’s Aid Planning Consultants Loughorough Mosque & Islamic Cultural Playtime Association Polish Community Centre Love4life Post Office, Town Planning & Legislation Unit M & S Solicitors Powergen Marcus Bates FRICS Powney Pratt Limited Mariners Quay Residents association Queniborough Gazette Markfield Parish Council Queniborough Parish Council Marrons Queniborough Village Appraisal Martyn Bramich Associates Quorn Parish Council Mason Richards Planning Raglan Housing Association Ltd Mela Committee Rail Freight Group Melton Borough Council Ramblers Association Melton Rutland and Harborough PCT Rapleys Mental Health Forum Ratcliffe on the Wreake Parish Meeting Metropolitan Housing Trust Rawlins Community College Midland Mainline Limited Rearsby Parish Council Miller Homes Ltd. (East Midlands) Rearsby Village Design Statement Group Ministry of Defence Estates Redrow Homes (Midlands) Limited Mobile Phone Operators Association Regional Housing Board Montague Evans Rempstone Parish Council Mountsorrel Parish Council Riverside Housing Mountsorrel Village Plan Group RNIB Vocational College Musson Liggins Butcher Road Haulage Association
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Rogert Tym & Partners Terence O'Rourke plc Rothley Parish Council The Countryside Agency Rothley Roundup The Crown Estate Roundabout the Community The Gypsy Council Roundhill Community College The Link RSPB (Central England Offices) The Long Furrow Community Magazine Rushcliffe Borough Council The Loughborough Prestige Hotel & Rushcliffe Estate Limited Conference Group Rutland County Council The National Trust Savills Walker Walton Thomas Skidmore & Sons SBT Planning Thrussington Life Scraptoft Parish Council Thrussington Parish Council Seagrave Parish Council Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council Seagrave Parish Magazine Thurmaston Parish Council Severn Trent Water Limited Thurmaston Times Shelthorpe Community Association TPAS Shepshed Sentinel Transco Plc Shepshed Town Council Transport 2000 Shire Properties Limited Traveller Law Reform Coalition Shree Ram Krishna Community Association Travers Morgan Limited Sikh Gurudawara Trent Barton Sikh Temple Twyford and Thorpe Parish Council Sileby Parish Council Ulverscroft Parish Meeting Sileby Village Appraisal Vincent Sykes Smith Stuart Reynolds Walton on the Wolds Parish Council South Croxton Parish Council Wanlip Parish Meeting South Notts Bus Company Limited West End Travel Sport England Westbury Homes Holding Limited Sriniketan Cultural Association Westleigh Developments Limited St Peters Community Association Wilcon Homes Midlands Stamford Homes Ltd. William Davis Limited Standard Life Assurance Company Williams Builders Ltd. Stanford on Soar Parish Council Willoughby on the Wolds Parish Council Stansgate Planning Consultants Women's National Commission Stephen George & Partners Woodbrook Vale High School Stephen Roberts Associates Woodhouse Eaves & Swithland Recreational Stoneleigh Planning Partnership Riding Association (WESRRA) Storer Road and Rosebery Street Community Woodhouse Eaves Parish Plan Group Association Woodhouse Parish Council Strategic Health Authority Woods Coaches Strategic Rail Authority Wreake Valley College Straw & Pearce Wymeswold Parish Council Sutton Bonington Parish Council Wymeswold Parish Plan Group Swithland Link Wymeswold Village Design Statement Swithland Parish Meeting Wysall & Thorpe in the Glebe Parish Council Syston Grapevine YWCA Community Centre Syston Town Council
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Appendix 6 Explanation of Deprivation Domains and Regional Housing Strategy Priorities
Deprivation Domains Multiple Deprivation The Multiple Deprivation index is based on six indicator domains. Each Domain consists of a separate set of indicators. The domains are as follows: Income Deprivation Employment Deprivation Health Deprivation and Disability Housing Deprivation Education, Skills and Training Deprivation Geographical Access to Services
Income Deprivation The income deprivation domain measures the proportion of the population living below 60% of median income. A number of indicators are used to compile this domain. These include:
Adults and children in Income Support households (2001, DWP) Adults and children in Income Based Job Seekers Allowance households (2001, DWP) Adults and children in Working Family Tax Credit households (2001, Inland Revenue and DWP) Adults and children in Disabled Persons Tax Credit households (2001, Inland Revenue and DWP) Supported asylum seekers in receipt of subsistence only and accommodation support (2002, Home Office and NASS)
IDAC (Income Deprivation Affecting Children) This is a supplementary indicator that measures the proportion of children aged under 16 years in an area who live in income deprived households.
IDAOP (Income Deprivation Affecting Older People) This is a supplementary indicator that measures the proportion of people aged over 60 years in an area who live in income deprived households.
Employment The employment deprivation domain measures the proportion of the working age population that are involuntarily excluded from the world of work. It includes both those who are registered as unemployed, but also includes elements of the more ‘hidden unemployed’ such as those who are out of the workforce through sickness. The indicators used are:
Unemployment claimant count (2001, ONS) Incapacity Benefit claimants (2001, DWP) Severe Disablement Allowance claimants (2001, DWP) Participants in New Deal (2001, DWP)
Health This domain identifies areas with relatively high rates of people who die prematurely or whose quality of life is impaired by poor health or who are disabled. The indicators used to compile this domain include:
Years of potential life lost (1997-2001, ONS) Comparative Illness and Disability Ratio (2001, DWP) Measures of emergency admissions to hospital (99/00 to 01/02, DoH) Measure of adults under 60 suffering from mood or anxiety disorders (2001, DoH, ONS, DWP) ODPM Indices of Deprivation 2004 – Leicestershire Education
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This domain captures the extent of deprivation in education, skills and training of people living in a local area. The indicators are based upon residence rather than location of schools or colleges. The indicators used are:
Average points score of pupils at Key Stage 2 (2002, Pupil Level Annual School Census and National Pupil Database) Average points score of pupils at Key Stage 3 (2002, Pupil Level Annual School Census and National Pupil Database) Average points score of pupils at Key Stage 4 (2002, Pupil Level Annual School Census and National Pupil Database) Proportion of young people not staying on in school or further education above 16 (2001, DWP) Secondary school absence rate (01/02, DfES) Proportion of those aged under 21 not entering higher education (99/02, UCAS) Skills Proportion of working age adults with no or low qualifications (2001, Census) BARRIERS TO HOUSING AND SERVICES Barriers This domain measures the barriers faced by the local population relating to housing along with a measure of the distance needed to travel to key local services. The indicators used are:
Wider Barriers Household overcrowding (2001, Census) Percentage of households with assistance under the homeless provisions of housing legislation (2002, ODPM) Difficulty of access to owner occupation (2002) Geographical Barriers Road distance to GP premises (2003, NHS) Road distance to a supermarket or convenience store (2002, MapInfo Ltd) Road distance to a primary school (01/02, DfES) Road distance to a Post Office (2003, Post Office Ltd) THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT DEPRIVATION Living Environment This domain looks at both the indoor and outdoor living environment. The indicators used include:
Indoor Living Environment Social and private housing in poor condition (2001, EHCS) Houses without central heating (2001, Census) Outdoor Living Environment Air quality (2001, UK National Air Quality Archive) Road traffic accidents involving injury to pedestrians and cyclists (00/02, DfT) CRIME DOMAIN Crime This domain measures the rate of recorded crime for four main crime types – burglary, theft, criminal damage and violence (02/03, Police Force data)
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Regional Housing Strategy Priorities
The regional housing strategy identifies sixteen policies covering three overall strategic aims. The policies are listed below:
Policies to Deliver Balance
1 Increasing the quantity and improving delivery of appropriate high quality affordable housing for all communities 2 Securing quality and choice for housing development 3 Recognising and responding to areas affected by low demand 4 Providing options for unpopular or unsuitable sheltered housing stock 5 Delivering decent homes and decent neighbourhoods: renewing and revitalising the private sector 6 Delivering decent homes and decent neighbourhoods: decent homes in the social sector 7 Ensuring sustainable growth for the Milton Keynes/South Midlands area is delivered 8 Ensuring that the skills in the construction sector can be harnessed to increase output in the region
Policies to Deliver Inclusion
9 Tackling the causes of homelessness 10 Assisting people to maintain their independence for as long as they wish 11 Promoting healthy, safe and eco-efficient homes 12 Ensuring that in rural areas and market towns there is both an appropriate provision of quality housing to meet a range of housing needs and access to related services for vulnerable people of all ages 13 Ensuring that all sub-regions understand and address the needs and aspirations of diverse sectors of their communities
Policies to Deliver Co-ordination
14 Developing the role of the sub-regions 15 Developing and integrating a common information base 16 Supporting economic growth in partnership
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Appendix 7 Glossary This glossary is a tool to help residents and our partners make the most of this Housing Strategy. It is not intended to provide a precise or legal definition of the terms used.
ADP – see Approved Development Programme
Affordable housing – For those households who are unable to resolve their housing needs in the local private sector market because of the relationship between housing costs and income.
ALMO – See Arms Length Management Organisation
Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) – A company set up by a Council to manage and improve all or part of its housing stock. The company is owned by the Council and operates under the terms of a management agreement between the Council and the ALMO
Anti-social behaviour – Any activity that causes alarm, harassment or distress to an individual, a community or group of households
Annual Survey of Household Earnings (ASHE) – An annual survey that calculates average wages across the country
Approved Development Programme (ADP) – The Housing Corporation’s proposals to grant aid new housing capital projects
ASHE – See annual survey of household earnings
Asylum Seeker - Someone who is waiting for their application to be recognised as a refugee to be considered by the Government
B&B – See bed and breakfast
Bed and Breakfast (B&B) – Accommodation sometimes used as temporary accommodation for homeless families
Benchmarking – Comparison of performance with other local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to enable the council to help to determine which service areas need to be improved
Best Value – Best Value was the government’s agenda for improving services in Local Government through the 4 C’s Challenge why, how and by whom a service is being provided Secure comparison with the performance of others Consult local taxpayers, service users, etc. in the setting of new performance targets Use fair and open competition wherever practicable as a means of securing efficient and effective services
Best Value Inspection – A comprehensive review of an individual service or group of services carried out by the Housing Inspectorate resulting in a start rating (0-3) of the service. Key themes include public consultation, service review, performance review and monitoring
Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs)– A set of government indicators to measure performance. They are collected nationally to allow a comparison between local authorities
Best Value Performance Plan – A statutory plan setting out what the council has achieved in the last year and what it intends to do to improve performance
Black Minority Ethnic (BME) - People of African, Asian or Caribbean heritage or descent, encompassing other migrant communities who may be discriminated against because of their race, ethnicity or colour’
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BME - See black minority ethnic
BRI – See Burglary Reduction Initiative
Burglary Reduction Initiative (BRI) – One of the initiatives introduced through the Crime and Disorder reduction strategy
Buy to Let – An investment scheme devised following changes in the law and the development of new mortgage products by lenders from the late 1990’s onwards. Buy to Let has led to an increasing number of private individuals buying properties in order to let them out to tenants
BVPI – See Best Value Performance Indicator
Capital programme – A programme of major works or improvements that meet the government’s definition of capital expenditure
Capital receipts – Money received from the sale of assets, mostly council house sales through the Right to Buy scheme
Capital resources – The amounts of money available to finance the Capital Programme. They include such things as credit approval, revenue contributions and a percentage of capital receipts
Carbon Dioxide (CO² ) – One of the most common greenhouse gases
CCLATA - See Charnwood Council Leaseholders and Tenants Association
Charnwood Council Leaseholders and Tenants Association (CCLATA) – the primary Tenants and Leaseholders forum for Council Tenants within the borough
Charnwood Racial Equality Council (CREC) – A voluntary sector organisation who provide support to BME groups and advice and advocacy on immigration and asylum matters
Charnwood Strategic Partnership (CSP) – Charnwood’s Local Strategic Partnership (see LSP)
Chief Housing Officers Group (CHOG) – A county wide group where Chief Housing Officers from all Councils within the county meet to discuss county wide matters
CHOG – See Chief Housing Officers Group
CHTF – See Community Housing Task Force
CO² - See carbon dioxide
Community Care/Care in the Community – A way of providing services to people to help them to stay in their own homes for as long as they are able, or in other homely settings
Community Housing Task Force (CHTF) – Consultants engaged in the early stages of the stock options appraisal
Community Safety Partnership – Work with the police, other agencies and local people to introduce effective crime prevention measures
Community Strategy – A document Councils have a duty to produce for improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of their communities
Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) – A review carried out by the Audit Commission on behalf of the government providing an overview of how the council is doing across the full range of services
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Concealed Household - A household living within another household but not by choice
Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) – An umbrella organisation that co-ordinates the voluntary sector within an area
CPA- See Comprehensive Performance Assessment
Contract and Public Services (CPS) - A Council department who provide a range of operational front line public services consisting of Building Maintenance, Highways, Engineering and Grounds Maintenance to all areas of the Borough.
CPS – See Contract and Public Services
Charnwood Tenants and Council Partnership (CTCP) - A forum made up of tenants representatives and councillors to discuss issues of concern for tenants
CREC - See Charnwood Racial Equalities Council
CSP - See Charnwood Strategic Partnership
CTCP – See Charnwood Tenants and Council Partnership
CVS - See Council for voluntary services
David Couttie Associates (DCA) – Housing analysts who produced Charnwood’s Housing Needs Survey (see HNS) Dwelling Balance Analysis (DBA) and Housing Market Assessment (HMA)
DBA - See Dwelling Balance Analysis
DCA – See David Couttie Associates
Decent Homes Standard – A Government standard that all social housing (both housing association and the Council) has to reach by 2010. A decent home will pass four tests:
1. It must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing (it must not be unfit); 2. it must be in a reasonable state of repair; 3. it must have reasonably modern facilities and services; and 4. it must provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
This target was widened in 2002 – improving the housing conditions of vulnerable people living in private accommodation (PSA7)
Development Plan Document (DPD) – A local development document that has been subject to an independent public inquiry run by a Planning Inspector. Once adopted following an inquiry these documents have statutory status as defined by section 38 (6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
DFG - See Disabled Facility Grant
Disabled Facility Grant (DFG) – This grant is available for people with disabilities who need improvements made to their home in order to allow them to access it easily, move around inside easily and make better use of the facilities such as bathrooms. Disabled people can apply for the grant through their local council
DPD - See Development Plan Document
Dwelling Balance Analysis (DBA) – An assessment of supply and demand in the housing market
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East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) - One of nine Regional Development Agencies in England set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development. Responsible for the East Midlands region
EMDA – See East Midlands Development Agency
Enabling Role – The council’s role to assist and encourage other agencies to meet identified housing needs
Floating Support - Support provided to tenants and owner-occupiers in a number of different properties, rather than attached to a specific property. Floating support is defined as low level support which can be provided to vulnerable tenants in ordinary accommodation. It is generally considered suitable for all client groups (depending on need)
Financial Strategy Group (FSG) - A group of members and senior officers who meet monthly as a pre-cursor to cabinet
FSG - See Financial Strategy Group
Fuel Poverty - A fuel poor household is one which needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel for all uses (heating, hot water, cooking lighting and electrical appliances). The amount spent on heating must be enough to achieve a satisfactory level of warmth which is generally accepted to be 21oC in the living room and 18oC in other rooms
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) – Computer systems that allow data such as deprivation statistics to be overlaid onto maps in graphical form
Gershon Review- A review of Public Sector efficiency undertaken by and named after Sir Peter Gershon
GIS- See Geographical Information Systems
GOEM - See Government Office of the East Midlands
Government Office of the East Midlands (GOEM) – The Government’s regional office which has responsibility for amongst other things housing development resources
HCS - See House Condition Survey
HIA - See Home Improvement Agency
HIG - See Housing Improvement Group
HMA - See Housing Market Assessment
HMO - See House in Multiple Occupation
HNS - Housing Needs Survey
Home Improvement Agency (HIA) – Home Improvement Agencies are small, locally based not- for-profit organisations. They help homeowners and private sector tenants who are older, disabled or on low income to repair, improve, maintain or adapt their homes
House Condition Survey (HCS) – A survey undertaken on a sample of housing stock to assess the overall condition of the stock
Housing Corporation – The Corporation’s role is to fund and regulate housing associations in England. It is a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)
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Housing Improvement Group (HIG) – A group made up of members and senior officers who ensure that planned improvements in housing services are delivered
House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) - A property, originally built or designed for one household, that now contains more than one household. This includes self-contained conversion flats (but not purpose-built flats), as well as bedsits etc. with shared facilities
Housing Market Assessment (HMA) – A study of a local housing market which takes into account the full impact of surrounding market areas
Housing Needs Survey (HNS) – A survey of housing need within a particular area that combines information such as local incomes, house prices, demand for social housing and surveys of the population to estimate the housing shortages or surpluses
Housing Quality Network (HQN) – Consultants who produced financial modelling as part of the stock options appraisal
Housing Revenue Account (HRA) – The account showing the income and expenditure incurred in the provision, management and maintenance of the Council's housing stock
HQN - See Housing Quality Network
HRA - See Housing Revenue Account
IMD - Index of Multiple Deprivation
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) – The Index of Deprivation combines the scores from 36 separate social and economic indicators for small geographical areas in England (super output areas). These indicators cover a range of topics (income, employment, health, education and training, housing and geographical access to all services) into a single deprivation score for each ward area
Independent Tenants Advisor (ITA) - Are individuals or organisations that provide independent information and impartial advice as well as support and assistance to tenants and leaseholders during the Housing Options Appraisal process
ITA - See Independent Tenants Advisor
Key Worker – Certain groups of public sector workers identified as a priority for housing assistance due to the impact that housing costs have on recruitment and retention within their fields. Different Key Worker schemes have included different workers although Nurses, Policemen and Teachers are the most commonly named professions
LAA - See Local Area Agreement
LDF - See local development framework
LDS - See local development scheme
Leaseholders – Owners of flats that exercised their Right to Buy on a 125 year lease
Leicestershire Rural Housing Enabler (LRHE) – A project which seeks to identify housing need in rural areas and to find ways of satisfying that need
Lifetime Homes – Standard homes designed with features such as level access, wider doorways etc, making them suitable for most disabled people with little need for later specialist adaptation
Local Area Agreement (LAA) – Local Area Agreements are a new approach to improve co- ordination between central government and local authorities and their partners, working through the Local Strategic Partnership
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Local Development Framework (LDF) – The name given to a portfolio of Local Development Documents, which will provide the framework for delivering the spatial planning strategy for the area
Local Development Scheme (LDS) – A 3 year programme that sets out details, timescales and arrangements for the production for each document that will form part of the LDF
Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) – A Local Strategic Partnership (LSPs) is a single non-statutory, multi-agency body, which matches local authority boundaries, and aims to bring together at a local level the different parts of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors
LRHE - See Leicestershire Rural Housing Enabler
Maisonette - A self-contained dwelling which occupies more than one floor and is located in a structure which contains other dwellings or non-domestic units on floors either above or/and below
Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) – This is part of the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan and aims to set aside funding for major repairs over the long term to properties and those that generally relate to a building’s structure, such as the replacement of a roof
MAPPOM - See Multi-Agency Public Protection Offender Management
MRA - See Major Repairs Allowance
Multi Agency Prolific Priority Offender Management (MAPPOM) – a multi-agency partnership that consists of Police / Probation / drugs / housing / victim workers, working in a holistic approach to manage an offenders behaviour, concentrating on control and rehabilitation support.
NASS - See National Asylum support service
National Asylum Support Service (NASS) – A government service that provides support, accommodation and financial help to asylum seekers whilst their asylum claim is being processed
Neighbourhood Renewal Area – Area based action where there is a concentration of social, environmental and housing problems. Action may include handling individual renovation grants, promoting good maintenance, improving the local environment, working with private landlords, energy efficiency, dealing with houses in multiple occupation and empty homes
ODPM - See Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) – The government department with responsibility for local government including housing, homelessness, planning and sustainable communities
Office of Immigration Services Commission (OISC) - An independent public body set up under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The OISC is responsible for ensuring that all advisors fulfil the requirements of good practice, setting standards and deciding who can give immigration advice
Office of National Statistics (ONS) - Government office who compile a range of statistics
OISC – See Office of Immigration Services Commission
ONS - See Office for National Statistics
PCT - See Primary Care Trust
Performance Management Framework (PMF) – Performance management is a method of helping councils deliver lasting improvement. It does this by ensuring individuals, teams, and ultimately the organisation, know what they should be doing, how they should be doing it and take responsibility for what they achieve
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PFI - See Private Finance Initiative
Planning Obligations – These are typically agreements between Councils and developers negotiated in the process of granting planning consent. They enable the proposed development to proceed and meet the needs of the local community associated with the new development
Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG3) – Government guidance on how affordable housing may be delivered through the planning system
PMF - See Performance Management Framework
PPG3 - See Planning Policy Guidance Note 3
PRC - See pre-cast reinforced concrete
Pre-cast Reinforced Concrete (PRC) Homes - Properties where the structure is of Pre-cast Reinforced Concrete components rather than traditional brickwork. These properties were built in the immediate post-war period and the systems were developed in response to the shortage of more conventional building materials at that time and the need for a large expansion of the house building programme. PRC dwellings are often the source of structural problems as over the years the concrete members can crack, causing the steel reinforcement within the concrete to corrode as a result of exposure to the weather. The properties also fail to meet modern standards of thermal insulation
Priority need – Under the homelessness legislation, the council has a greater duty to people accepted as being in priority need. This includes people with dependent children and people who are vulnerable
Primary Care Trust (PCT) - A Primary Care Trust (PCT) is a legally established NHS body. It has three main purposes : • To improve the health of the community and reduce inequalities in health • To commission hospital and community health care • To develop primary and community health services.
Charnwood Borough falls primarily within Charnwood and North West Leicestershire PCT although the south east of the borough falls within Melton Rutland and Harborough PCT.
Private Finance Initiative (PFI) – A public/private sector development partnership arrangement where the project risk is transferred to the private sector partner
Private sector housing – Housing not controlled by bodies such as local authorities, voluntary organisations or Registered Social Landlords
Private Sector Leasing (PSL) – A scheme whereby the Council leases properties in the private sector to provide temporary accommodation for households accepted under a full homeless duty until permanent accommodation can be secured
PSA - See Public Service Agreement
PSL - See Private Sector Leasing
Public Service Agreement (PSA) – A package of performance targets to help councils deliver measurable improvements in local services.
Refugee - A person who has been forced to leave their country because it is not safe for them to stay and has been granted rights to remain in another country as a result
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Regional Housing Board (RHB) – Following the Sustainable Communities Plan in 2003, RHBs were formed to advise ministers on strategic housing priorities and to advise on the allocation of social housing funding through the new Single Regional Housing Pot
Regional Planning Guidance – Formal guidance from the Secretary of State to local authorities, giving advice on the production of planning documents
Regional Spatial Strategy For the East Midlands (RSS8) - The strategy provides a broad development strategy for the East Midlands up to 2021
Registered Social Landlord (RSL) - These are independent housing organisations registered with the Housing Corporation under the Housing Act 1996 formed to provide affordable housing. Most are housing associations, but there are also trusts, co-operatives and companies
Rent Restructuring – This is a ten year programme introduced by the government in 2001 to ensure that Social Rents are affordable; fairer and less confusing for tenants; have a closer link with the qualities tenants value in properties and remove differences between council and Registered Social Landlord (RSL) rents. The formula used to calculate target rents takes into account average social rents, property size, average county earnings and average social property values.
RHB - See Regional Housing Board
RICS - See Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
Right to Buy (RTB) – A statutory right for Council tenants to buy their home at a discount based on the length of time they have been a tenant
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – A professional body representing surveyors. It produces quarterly reports based on its members opinions on the strength of the housing market
RSL - See Registered Social Landlord
RSS8 - See Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands
RTB - See Right to Buy
SAP - See Standard Assessment Procedure
Section 106 agreement – Agreement negotiated between Local Authorities and developers or landowners which secures provision for infrastructure, community facilities and affordable housing as part of a new development
Service Improvement Plan – a detailed annual action plan showing how service improvements identified in the Delivery Plan are to be achieved
Shared Ownership – A method of acquiring part ownership of a dwelling. Rent is paid on the non- purchase share
SHARP - See Shelter Housing Aid and Research Project
Shelter Housing Aid and Research Project (SHARP) – A housing aid charity that provides a tenancy support scheme for users with problematic drug use within Charnwood
Sheltered Housing – Homes for older people, usually with a scheme manager on site or on call to offer help and support
SHG - See Social Housing Grant
SOA - See Stock Options Appraisal or Super Output Area
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SOASG - See Stock Options Appraisal Steering Group
Social housing – A general term for rented and shared ownership housing not provided for profit, e.g. by Councils, Registered Social Landlords, almshouses etc
Social Housing Grant (SHG) - Social Housing Grant - a grant paid by the Housing Corporation to fund approved housing developments
Social Inclusion Positive – Action to make employment, training and economic intervention sustainable. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister research indicates that housing investment can play a key role in anchoring communities
SPD - See Supplementary Planning Document
Standard assessment procedure (SAP) – SAP provides a simple means of reliably estimating the energy efficiency performance of dwellings. SAP ratings were expressed on a scale of 1 to 100, the higher the number the better the rating. However, improvements in energy efficiency have lead to the scale being extended to 120.
Stock Options Appraisal (also SOA) - The process undertaken by Local Authorities to identify the most appropriate opportunity to ensure the decent homes standard and tenants aspirations are met.
Stock Options Appraisal Steering Group (SOASG) – A group made up of tenants, councillors, council officers and the ITA who oversaw the options appraisal process and made the final recommendation to cabinet
Super Output Area (SOA) – These are new geographic areas designed to improve the reporting of small area statistics. Eventually, they should become the set standard for all Office of National Statistics releases.
Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) - Supplementary documents that expand upon existing local plan policies
Supplementary Planning Guidance – this is detailed planning guidance to amplify and apply the issues identified in an authority’s Local Plan and Structure Plan.
Supporting People – A funding stream for supported housing such as sheltered housing.
Sure Start - Sure Start is the government programme to deliver the best start in life for every child. We bring together, early education, childcare, health and family support.
Tenant Compact – A document that details how tenants are involved in the housing service.
Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) - The Independent Tenant’s Advisors chosen within Charnwood (see ITA)
TPAS - See Tenant Participation Advisory Service
Unfit – Unfit for human habitation is a standard for housing defined in the Housing Act 1985 i.e. it is a statutory standard. To assess if a property is unfit, surveys consider repair, food preparation facilities, bath/shower, dampness, toilet, ventilation, stability, drainage, lighting and water supply.
Void properties – An empty property for which there is no current tenancy.
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Appendix 8 – Key Documents
Contact Details and Links to All Documents Referred to in the Housing Strategy A number of different plans, documents and studies have been used to help in the development and production of our housing strategy. Some useful reading and information can be obtained as follows:
Method to obtain document Document Web address e-mail Address/ phone number Charnwood Borough Council http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/u information@charnwoo Council Offices Capital Plan ploads/budgetbook2005.06.pdf d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Borough Council Best http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/uploads/24 information@charnwoo Council Offices Value Performance Plan 2004 - 05 172efb93170c138091652.pdf d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Borough Council http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/uploads/co information@charnwoo Council Offices Communications Strategy mmunicationsstrategy1.pdf d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Community Strategy http://www.charnwoodonline.net/uploads/ information@charnwoo Council Offices 10970536030257.pdf d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Borough Council http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/housing/15 information@charnwoo Council Offices Affordable Warmth Policy 5.html d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Borough Council http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/housing/15 information@charnwoo Council Offices
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Energy Action Plan 5.html d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Corporate Equalities Plan http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/community/ information@charnwoo Council Offices corporateequalitiesplan.html d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Borough Council http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/uploads/ho information@charnwoo Council Offices Homelessness Review and Strategy melessnessstrategy.pdf d.gov.uk Southfields Road 2003 Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Leicestershire Supporting People http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/social_servic [email protected] County Hall, Strategy / Draft Strategy es/ssd_plans_policies/supporting_people_ k Glenfield, strategy.htm Leicester LE3 8RA 0116 232 3232 Investment for Health, A public http://www.emra.gov.uk/publications/docu info@eastmidlandsasse EMRA health strategy for the East ments/investment_for_health_full.pdf mbly.org.uk The Belvoir Suite Midlands Council Offices Nottingham Road Melton Mowbray LE13 0UL Crime and Disorder Reduction http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/uploads/10 information@charnwoo Council Offices Strategy 2002-2005 763344781934.pdf d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Economic Development Strategy http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/uploads/14 information@charnwoo Council Offices September 2004 16fed882bd9e917995332.pdf d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151
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Charnwood Borough Council http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/democracy/ information@charnwoo Council Offices climate change strategy climatechangestrategy.html d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Borough Council Local http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/environme information@charnwoo Council Offices Plan nt/adoptedlocalplan.html d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Charnwood Borough Council http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/environme information@charnwoo Council Offices Supplementary Planning Documents nt/supplementaryplanningdocuments.html d.gov.uk Southfields Road Loughborough LE11 2TX 01509 263151 Housing Act 2004 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/2004 [email protected] The Stationery Ofiice (TSO), 0034.htm PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich NR3 1GN Tel. 0870 600 5522 The Race Relations (Amendment) http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/2000 [email protected] The Stationery Ofiice (TSO), Act 2000 0034.htm PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich NR3 1GN Tel. 0870 600 5522 Sustainable Communities: Building www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_ [email protected] Office of the Deputy Prime for the Future – ODPM February communities/documents/pdf/odpm_comm Minister 2003 ._pdf_ 26 Whitehall 022184.pdf London SW1A 2WH 020 7944 4400 Quality and Choice: A decent www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_ [email protected] Office of the Deputy Prime home for all – the way forward for housing/ Minister housing –ODPM documents/pdf/odpm_house_pdf_601905. 26 Whitehall pdf London SW1A 2WH 020 7944 4400
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More than a Roof – A report into www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_ [email protected] Office of the Deputy Prime Homelessness 2002 – ODPM homelessness/documents/pdf/odpm_home Minister _pdf_ 26 Whitehall 601520.pdf London SW1A 2WH 020 7944 4400 Guidance on Community Cohesion www.lga.gov.uk/Documents/Publication/ [email protected] Local Government – Local Government Association communitycohesion.pdf Association, Local 2002 Government House, Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HZ Tel. 020 6554 3000 East Midlands Regional Housing http://www.goem.gov.uk/goem/docs/19191 housing.goem@go- Government Office for the Strategy 2004-10 3/232488/strategy regions.gsi.gov.uk East Midlands The Belgrave Centre Stanley Place Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GG tel: 0115 971 2679 fax: 0115 971 2404 Sustainable Communities in the http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/o [email protected] Office of the Deputy Prime East Midlands dpm_about/documents/page/odpm_about Minister _035159.pdf 26 Whitehall London SW1A 2WH 020 7944 4400 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) http://www.emda.org.uk/res/DEST_MAIN. [email protected] EMDA pdf Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham, NG2 4LA,
t: 0115 9888300 Healthy Housing Toolkit http://www.changeagentteam.org.uk/_libra change_agent_team@d Health and Social Care ry/docs/Housing/Housingandhealth/Health h.gsi.gov.uk Change Agent Team
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_and_housing_assessment_tool.pdf Area LG33 Department of Health Wellington House 135-155 Waterloo Rd London SE1 8UG
0207 972 4606
Other Sources of Information For UK legislation http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ For Local Authority Performance Information http://www.bvpi.gov.uk/pages/Index.asp For Statistical Information Including Census http://www.statistics.gov.uk For Government Information on Housing Issues http://www.odpm.gov.uk For House Price Information http://www.landreg.gov.uk/ Supporting People Information http://www.spkweb.org.uk/ The Housing Corporation Website http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/ Joseph Rowntree Foundation http://www.jrf.org.uk/ Leicestershire Statistical Information http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/your_council/about_leicestershire/statistics.htm Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors http://www.rics.org/default Charnwood and North West Leicestershire PCT http://www.cnwlpct.nhs.uk/xform.asp Melton, Rutland and Harborough PCT http://www.mrh.nhs.uk/xform.asp
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Appendix 9 - List of Named Internal Contacts involved in the Strategy Full name of team/organisation Contact Name Contact details
Housing Needs Sharon Bignell 01509 634671 [email protected] Housing Strategy Donna Dwyer 01509 634944 [email protected] Tenancy Services & Rents Julie Ulph 01509 634878 [email protected] Housing Standards Bruce McKenzie 01509 634649 [email protected] Planning Services Guy Longley 01509 634763 [email protected] Policy and Planning David Harris 01509 634780 [email protected] Financial Services Ian Allwyn 01509 634824 [email protected] The Bridge Housing Advice Centre Peter Davey 01509 260500 [email protected]
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