HOUSING STRATEGY

2008 – 2011

“Bigger, better, brighter Corby– Working together to improve housing

opportunitiesfor the peopleof the Borough”

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CORBY BOROUGH COUNCIL - HOUSING STRATEGY 2008-11 November 2007

Neighbourhood Pride Services

Lead Member’s Prologue

The aims contained within this Housing Strategy for 2008-11 will assist us in creating safer, stronger and more sustainable communities, whilst understanding the present and future needs of all sections of the community within the Borough.

To achieve these aims close working relationships with all of our partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors is essential. We already have a robust foundation of partnership working from which to build upon but the local community’s involvement through consultation is crucial to its success within the decision-making process.

There is an increasing need for housing within the borough across all types of tenures, whether it be for open market sale, low cost home ownership or social rented housing provided by the public and private sectors. We aim to ensure that it is built to a good standard across all developments in order to create communities that are long-standing.

This strategy provides a flexible approach in allowing the delivery of the evolving needs of all of the sections within the community and gives direction of travel for the housing needs within the borough with the aim of having a positive contribution to the regeneration and growth agenda for Corby.

Councillor Bob Eyles, Lead Member for Housing
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There have been a series of service and partnership developments since 2005, but more are required to underscore growth and regeneration, within the town. These partnerships are required to be relevant and sympathetic to the growing needs within the town and are key to the flexibility of the reactions needed to address change, whether that change be known ahead of time or not. This is essential if we are to strengthen our achievements and realise our business objectives.

This strategy covers the aims and objectives of Corby Borough Councils, Neighbourhood Pride Services (NPS). NPS is responsible for the delivery of housing services within the borough and all related issues. These services are; the Landlord management of the Authority’s some 4800 housing stock (including supported housing for the elderly and homeless); Maintenance and modernisation of the stock; Neighbourhood management (including community safety and partnership); Housing Register maintenance (including the nominations to various Registered Social Landlords and CBC housing stock); Housing Options Advice incorporating Homelessness advice and determination; Service Improvement and best practice (including value for money) and Warden Services for older persons (including control centre services that also cover the vita link service and out of hours service co-ordination). Each of these services link in with the related services of the council and other organisation to proved a partnership approach to their delivery.

The following is a list of areas that the Strategy deals with in greater detail:

Key concerns:

  • Delivering a balance of high-quality market and an appropriate mix of affordable housing to sustain local ‘growth’ and ‘regeneration’.
  • Improving the housing stock across all tenures.
  • Meeting the needs of local homeless and vulnerable households.
  • Delivering ‘sustainable communities’.

Focus upon the role and work of partners and partnerships:

  • Managing performance.
  • Use of finances and other resources.
  • Achieving Value-for-Money.

Maintaining and improving services:

  • Customer care and service user focus.
  • Equality and Diversity of services.
  • Benchmarking and improving research.

Recommendations for next actions:

  • Short-term 2008-09.
  • Medium-term 2009-11.
  • Longer-term 2011-16.

List of documents that have an influence on service delivery:

  • Controls on Planning.
  • Decent Homes.
  • Energy Certificate.
  • Housing Act 1996 (as amended in 2002 for Homelessness).
  • Crime reduction.
  • Local Area Agreement for Northamptonshire & Local Strategic Partnership.
  • Choice Based Lettings Guidance.
  • Corporate Strategy – One Corby.
  • NPS Service Plan

NB: It should be noted that the above list is not exhaustive but represent the main impacting documents.

1.0Background

1.1The current context of housing provision and services in Corby

1.1.1The scale of change to modern Corby

The scale of new developments in Corby is truly spectacular and the Borough is on target to achieve its goal of doubling its population by 2030. Public and private sectors are working in partnership to deliver key projects worth more than a quarter of a billion pounds. In partnership with the North Northants Development Company, East Midlands Development Agency, English Partnerships, central government and Northamptonshire County Council, the Borough Council is in the process of creating a whole range of new houses, shops, schools and community facilities. It will mean new roads, better transport links, a new train service and station, miles of safe cycle paths, a new 450 seat theatre and arts centre, library and other leisure facilities, plus a state-of-the-art 50-metre swimming pool complex. This is much more than just a series of ‘regeneration’ projects: it represents a rare vision to craft a modern Borough that will be a world away from the past - building indeed “a bigger, better, brighter future” for Corby.

1.1.2Regeneration and Growth

The Borough’s enthusiastic endorsement of the government’s ‘growth’ agenda for the wider Milton Keynes and South Midlands area has seen the recent development of hundreds of new homes - everything from first-time-buyers through to large executive-style houses. The current activity of most major house-builders has seen the Borough have one of the highest rates of new residential development anywhere in the UK.

Key areas for new housing include Oakley Vale, a 436-acre site began four years ago where over 2300 homes have already been built of the 3200 proposed; Priors Hall a new urban extension of 5100 properties stretching into the neighbouring Borough; and Little Stanion, a 1000-home high quality development. The Borough has rightly been described in the media as a “property hotspot”, and has featured around the top of national comparison tables for price rises.

Hard-in-hand with wider retail and commercial regeneration and development has been a deliberate policy of estate renewal for parts of the Borough with the most challenging situations and reputations. The local authority remains the owner and provider of most social housing in the Borough, but is aware of the need to see this reflect modern aspirations and dovetail into modern mixed-tenure neighbourhoods, with services delivered through broad-based neighbourhood teams. A demolition programme to remove over 350 low-demand properties has commenced along with their gradual replacement by targeted new housing development to re-model and revitalise the local housing market.

1.2Wider investment and development strategies

Underpinning the delivery of new housing provision in Corby and the wider North Northants area are a range of key development and investment strategies:

1.2.1National level

- The Government’s “Sustainable Communities Plan” from 2003 has established the ‘Milton Keynes South Midlands growth area’ as one of four key areas for new housing growth, and this includes the whole of Northamptonshire.

- The 2007 Housing Green Paper and recent Planning White Paper set out Government intentions to streamline planning and development processes, and for combining the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships together as a new national housing delivery agency. This has been refined within the current Housing & Regeneration Billwhich sets outthe establishment of the Homes and Communities Agency (and the abolition of the Housing Corporation) and outlines the provision of a new regulatory regime for social housing.

- A decade on from the first CSR, the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review CSR07 represents a long-term and fundamental review of government expenditure covering departmental allocations for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. Amongst other aims, CSR07 has a fundamental commitment for “a more strategic approach to asset management and investment decisions, ensuring the UK is equipped with the infrastructure needed to support both public service delivery and the productivity and flexibility of the wider economy”.

- The Government has also announced as part of CSR07 30 cross-departmental Public Service Agreements, (PSA targets) top priorities that come into effect from April 2008, under the following key objectives:

  • Sustainable growth and prosperity (PSAs 1-7)
  • Fairness and opportunity for all (PSAs 8-17)
  • Stronger communities and a better quality of life (PSAs 18-26)
  • A more secure, fair and environmentally sustainable world (PSAs 27-30)

The two Delivery Agreements with the strongest ‘housing’ emphasis are:

PSA Delivery Agreement 20: to increase the long term housing supply and its affordability

PSA Delivery Agreement 21: to build more cohesive, empowered and active communities.

- The new ‘National Affordable Housing Programme, 2008-11’ has been launched by the Housing Corporation, with challenging targets for the levels of grant that are available for new development (around £44,000 average for rental units in the East Midlands, and £20,000 for shared-ownership units). It is understood that the 2008/9 - 2010/11 national programme is expected to deliver 180,000 new social homes over 3 years, with an indicative budget of £8bn, of which approx £6.5bn is for rental units. Bids for grant-funded development in Corby are likely to be expected from RSLs from April 2008 onwards.

- The current Planning Reform Bill notes the proposed new Planning Charge - now branded as a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations (with Treasury consent) that will apply to all planning authorities in England and Wales, although further information on the scope and operation of such a ‘levy’ are still awaited. The Bill defines the purpose of CIL as "to ensure that costs incurred in providing infrastructure to support the development of an area can be funded (wholly or partly) by owners of land the value of which increases due to permission for development". The regulations will also include provision for how existing ‘Section 106’ powers are to be used.

- The revised guidance from 2006 “Planning Policy Statement 3 : Housing” has refined the expectations for how authorities consider the planning of new housing developments, setting new targets for site densities of new residential developments and amending the ‘trigger’ points at which obligations for mixed-tenure outcomes should become effective. PPS3 furthermore sets out the context for Strategic Housing market Assessments, and requires local authorities to undertake Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments - to identify a rolling 5-years worth of deliverable sites, and identify land looking at least 15 years ahead in suitable locations.

- In February 2007 the Hills Report Ends and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England summarised work carried out to address the key question of ‘what are the options to help people afford decent housing?’, and concluded that the aim of providing “a decent home for all at a price within their means” is likely to require more action to support people’s livelihoods and so boost the means at their disposal.

- June 2007 saw the publication of the Cave Report, Every Tenant Matters: A review of social housing regulation which contained recommendations to Ministers on the establishment of an independent regulatory body with three principal duties:

• To ensure the continuing provision of high quality social housing

• To empower and protect tenants; and

• To expand the availability of choice of provider at all levels of the provision ofsocial housing.

Subsequent Government consultation between June and September 2007 has informed debate that has agreed the new regulatory body of the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords to be established by April 2009.

- the Review of sub-national economic development and regeneration, issued by HM Treasury and CLG in July 2007, to consider how local authorities and Regional Development Agencies are empowered to spread economic well-being and opportunity to everyone in their region, and to clarify how objectives for promoting growth and tackling deprivation are clear, focusedand relevant.

1.2.2Regional level

- A number of policies in the “Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands” (also known as the East Midlands Regional Plan) are focused upon the overall volume of housing development in the region up to 2026. These include policies for affordable housing, rural housing, targets for efficient land use, and accommodation for Gypsies and Traveller communities.

- The East Midlands Development Agency’s “Regional Economic Strategy, 2006-2020” is also committed to the delivery of an increased amount of housing across the region, with targets for improving the range of provision and for regenerating those parts of the region ‘of low demand’.

- The “2008-11 Regional Housing Investment Strategy” has set expectations that 34% of the regional budget will be allocated for affordable housing in the Southern sub-area (though there may be a slow take-up of such funds due to the nature and extent of large-scale sites across the sub-region), and is informing the development of a new East Midlands Regional Housing Strategy, due to be signed-off by the Regional Housing Planning and Transport Joint Board by Autumn 2008. Besides overall regional housing investment, the emerging Regional Strategy is also likely to focus upon ‘affordability’, housing design, rural housing, and planning for an ageing and vulnerable population.

1.2.3Sub-regional level

-The “North Northants Core Spatial Strategy 2007”, has noted that targets for the delivery of new housing in the |Borough are for 16,800 new properties to 2021. Of this total 15510 are proposed for the urban core of the Borough and 1290 for the rural areas, of which completions have totalled 1,491 up to 2006.

- The “2007 North Northants Strategic Housing Market Assessment” covering the boroughs of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough has provided an up-to-date analysis of local housing market conditions, using new Housing Needs Surveys and extensive analysis of other supplementary data. It has recognised the substantial development of Corby’s modern housing market and the substantial numbers of new properties being created. It recognised and supported Corby’s focus upon prioritising delivery of new housing stock for sale, however it has confirmed that future needs will require a mix of new market and affordable properties.

- The 2007 SHMA was itself highlighted in the ‘2007 Sub-regional Housing Action Plan’ which had been complied by the Northamptonshire Housing Strategy Officers for co-ordinated action on housing priorities across the county-area.

- Other cross-boundary work in progress is to create a “North Northants Local Development Framework” covering the same four boroughs, to act as a common framework for a ‘levy’ agreement for planning contributions from the development sector to meet the infrastructure and associated development costs of the new housing areas.

- Strong development interest from the private sector – such as the ‘North Northants Stakeholder Group - has made proposals for how statutory agencies might enhance their current separate roles by collaborative work, even to the extent of combining authorities. There is also a feeling that projections for household growth in the sub-region are too modest, and that the market could allow for new 2026 housing development targets to be significantly increased. A review of sub-regional targets is anticipated from the Regional Plan examination and Review that is already under way.

1.3New frameworks for service improvements and delivery

1.3.1CBC corporate strategies and performance

The Borough Council has detailed key regeneration and growth ambitions within its ‘One Corby’ policies. A number of its pledges detail ‘housing’ or housing-related issues:

  • adopting a statutory `Better by Design’ planning policy document with other North Northamptonshire authorities in order to achieve the highest standards of design, construction, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in all future housing developments and communities;
  • cutting Corby’s Housing ‘Waiting List’ and boosting home ownership aspirations by ensuring that appropriate numbers of all new homes built in Corby are made available at low, social rent-levels or affordable levels to buy;
  • reducing the number of lettable, empty Council properties across the Borough to an average of less than 50, and the time to re-let them to 30 days or less;
  • increasing investment in cleaner, safer, neighbourhoods and improving the quality of life of all residents by creating a third Neighbourhood Management Team and sponsoringfurther Police Community Support Officer resources;
  • conducting a Green Audit, setting a carbon reduction target and implementing a rolling programme of measures to reduce adverse impact on the environment and encourage sustainable regeneration and growth.

1.3.2Assessments of service delivery and ‘Local Area Agreements’

Formal assessments of the Council’s service performance, as conducted by the Audit Commission in a now somewhat dated Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) was disappointing but recent studies have indicated a much improving position for re-inspection in September 2008.

Proposals from the Audit Commission have been made for replacing the CPA assessment framework with a new combined assessment framework for local services from 2009 (to be called the Comprehensive Area Agreement). It is intended that a revised and broadened assessment of local services will be a catalyst to help co-ordinate, rationalise and target service inspections, and to focus subsequent interventions where they are considered to be most needed. Such future assessments will be conducted as a source of independent information and assurance about local services for citizens, people who use services, taxpayers and central government and will focus on the delivery of outcomes that are the responsibility of councils either alone or working in partnership with others. This means that future service assessments are likely to consider, for example, health and well-being; community safety; sustainable communities; economic development; local housing markets; and children’s and older people’s services, in addition to other council services.