Stoke-on-Trent Housing Strategy 2017 - 2022 Building together for a strong future Revised October 2017 CONTENTS FOREWORD .................................................................................................. 3 STRATEGY AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................. 4 STRONGER TOGETHER PRIORITIES ........................................................... 5 A CITY FOR LIVING IN .................................................................................. 6 A HOME FOR EVERY STAGE OF LIFE ........................................................... 10 A FOCUS ON PEOPLE .................................................................................. 14 A FOCUS ON HOMES ................................................................................... 18 OUR HOUSING GROWTH AMBITIONS ......................................................... 23 2. FOREWORD Councillor Randolph Conteh Cabinet Member for Housing, Communities and Safer City Carl Brazier Director of Housing and Customer Services The City of Stoke-on-Trent is a city on the move Stoke-on-Trent is the thirteenth largest The city council is looking at itself as a facilitator city conurbation in the UK and has the of change. It is becoming more commercial in its outlook and improving its governance and efficiency. fourth fastest growing economy of any With the support of its residents the council will local authority in England. It has been make this happen, staying true to the city’s motto Vis approved as Housing Business Ready and Unita Fortior, which translates as: ‘united strength is has been granted Housing Zone status. stronger’ meaning that we are Stronger Together. To make Stoke-on-Trent a place where people Stoke-on-Trent is rediscovering and reframing those actively choose to live and work, we are looking things that have made it great in the past – carefully at what needs to happen in our housing in particular its world-renowned ceramics industry. and residential areas. We are looking at all the The city is planning on making much more of its accommodation available within the city – its size, unique features and natural assets, and exploiting design, location, quality and attractiveness – and its geography – between north and south – and its its ability to meet the aspirations and needs of both regional and national connectivity. Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent residents and new residents who is growing as a place of learning with Staffordshire may be attracted to live and work in the city. Our University moving to concentrate its facilities in the overall aim is to enhance the housing offer, in city centre and Keele University close by. order to support this we have established our own company, Fortior Homes, which puts us in a position It is embracing new opportunities to expand its to influence housing development in the city . economy by encouraging new investment and entrepreneurship in order to generate thousands We believe Stoke-on-Trent has a lot to offer people of new jobs, giving the city momentum to become and that it can enhance this offer further. This a critical economic driver for Staffordshire and powerful blend of action will bring energy and Cheshire. And is also making improvements to interest and, in time, will make Stoke-on-Trent a key services, in particular health, education thriving and modern core1UK City. It will continue to and transport. be a great place to live where people can fulfil their potential, businesses can thrive, and more vulnerable citizens can live happily2. 1http://corecities.com 2See Stronger Together: http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/content/community/community/stronger- together/stronger-together.en 3. STOKE-ON-TRENT HOUSING STRATEGY 2017 - 2022 Aim: The aim of this strategy is to enhance Stoke-on-Trent’s housing offer so that people at all stages of life can find and live in a quality home they want at a price they can afford. Objectives: • To make new housing development viable so that a range of new homes are built that are attractive and affordable to people whatever stage of life they are at • To improve the condition and liveability of existing homes and rental management practices in Stoke-on-Trent • To enable people to live well in their homes and make good housing choices throughout their lives • To respond well to government requirements and make the most of government initiatives that relate to housing Outcomes: Delivery of this strategy will ensure that we will: • Deliver a better balance in the range of homes available across the city so that there are attractive options for people who already live in Stoke-on- Trent and for those who would like to live in the city in the future • Improve the quality of the homes and residential environments across the city • Make it possible for people to access and enjoy living independently in their home • Make Stoke-on-Trent a more attractive place to live 4. STRONGER TOGETHER Working together to create a stronger city we can all be proud of The Stronger Together Strategic Plan 2016-20 sets out the vision and overarching priorities and objectives for the council. The diagram below shows how the Housing Strategy will contribute to the achievement of that vision. Work with residents to make Support vulnerable people Support our businesses to our towns and communities in our communities to live thrive, delivering investment in our great places to live their lives well towns and communities • Preserve and enhance the • Enable and support • Deliver an increase in the unique heritage of our city more people to live number of new houses • Deliver a significant independently and safely of various tenures, improvement in housing • Improve quality of life, prioritising development quality by investing in independence and choice on brownfield land homes and driving up for vulnerable adults • Deliver a transformation housing standards • Enable young people in the number of • Involve communities in leaving care to live apprenticeships in the city making each town and independently and safely and in the council neighbourhood a great, • Support residents to vibrant and healthy place to manage their money live and work effectively, improving uptake of benefits for those who are eligible A commercial council, well governed and fit for purpose, Support our residents to driving efficiency in everything we do fulfil their potential • Deliver optimal efficiency • Increase the number of in all our services adopting people moving into work delivery models that deliver • Transform training and maximum value for residents skills provision, supporting • Optimise value from local business growth and public spending and enabling local people to increase the proportion of spending with local secure good quality work businesses 5. A CITY FOR LIVING IN We have a big vision for making Stoke-on-Trent into The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire City Deal is a great place to live where businesses can thrive worth £113 million and will support up to 23,000 jobs and residents can fulfil their potential. We know for local people over the next decade. that this requires consistent, dedicated progress on many fronts. Making sure that we have the right sort Some of Stoke-on-Trent’s major employers include; of homes that are high quality and attractive is an Michelin, Steelite, Fuch, Bet365, Vodafone, Emma important part of this process, but it is one of many Bridgewater, Moorcroft and Goodwin International. strands of work that will make the change happen. This section sets the scene; it explains our vision for Connected Stoke-on-Trent: quick and easy access to the city and touches on some of the wider work going just about everywhere on across the council and beyond, in order to achieve our goal. The city stands on the M6, West Coast Mainline and HS2 transport corridor - the backbone of Britain – Building on Stoke-on-Trent’s assets midway between Birmingham and Manchester. Its location is enhanced by its proximity to Manchester Stoke-on-Trent has an abundance of strengths and Airport (45 minutes) and to the Peak District and assets – physical such as green spaces and cultural Alton Towers (less than 30 minutes). such as our heritage in fine porcelain. We are going to employ and enhance them to make a much more Stoke-on-Trent is already well-connected by liveable city. The city’s strengths and assets include: rail links to London, Manchester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Crewe and Derby, and is well Green Stoke-on-Trent: a system of healthy green positioned in respect of the national road network. spaces and green transport corridors throughout Taking maximum advantage of the city’s location the city by accelerating market demand through enhanced connectivity is one of the keys to driving the city’s Stoke-on-Trent is one of the greenest cities in the high growth agenda. As a result the city is working UK. The abundance of parks and green spaces is regionally and nationally to improve strategic appreciated by Stoke-on-Trent’s citizens who come infrastructure and ensure journey times remain out in force to help maintain and improve them. It also competitive with other destinations. Similarly we have has many canals, rivers and brooks that flow through identified local infrastructure improvements designed several of Stoke-on-Trent’s towns, criss-crossing the to facilitate site access and speed up delivery of city. Stoke-on-Trent is a perfect size for people who housing sites. like to get around by bicycle, scooter and even on foot. In particular we have been working