“A decent place to live is the foundation on which people build their lives”
Providing more affordable homes in Telford and Wrekin, improving and making the best of the borough’s existing housing and providing homes to help our most vulnerable residents.
These are the three main objectives in a new five year Housing Strategy to be considered by Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet when it meets later this month (Thursday 18 June).
The Cabinet is being recommended to agree to consult this summer on the strategy which aims to:
Work with partner organisations to provide more affordable homes by:
•building on more brownfield sites
•increasing provision of accessible and supported homes
•promoting high quality standards and working to make new homes low-carbon
•building more quality homes to rent through NuPlace*
•delivering choice and opportunity including community based housing and self build
Make the best of the borough’s existing homes by:
•reducing the number of empty and unused properties
•Supporting homeowners and landlords to promote good management and continuing to tackle rogue landlords.
•Creating a new focus on housing renewal including a community based approach to property care and maintenance
•Tackling fuel poverty
Provide homes to support and empower our most vulnerable people by:
•exploring ways to support young people to get onto the housing ladder
•increasing the supply of specialist and accessible homes to help older and vulnerable residents live independently, longer
•working with the voluntary sector to tackle the root causes of homelessness
•maintaining funding to make sure there is a safe and warm bed for anyone who needs it all year round.
•expanding provision to support our veterans, care leavers and over 65s at home and in the community.
Councillor David Wright, Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “It has long been our priority to make sure that Telford and Wrekin is a great place in which to live. There is much that we have already achieved including delivering 1,200 new homes each year, tripling the number of new affordable homes each year, working with private landlords to improve standards in rented housing and substantially increasing the amount of supported housing.
“Despite all this and, in line with other parts of the country, the borough still lacks sufficient suitable homes, some of which are unaffordable and others unsuitable. We also need to consider how we make new and existing homes lower carbon as part of our commitment to tackle climate change.
“With this strategy, we want to take the quantity and quality of housing to the next level. It’s a vital part of our vision to protect, care and invest to create a better borough.
“Our aim is for every resident to be able to access a safe and affordable home by building more new ones, improving those we already have and raising standards in the rented sector. A decent place to live is the foundation on which people build their lives. It also brings wider benefits to the borough as a whole; strengthening the local economy and creating opportunities.”
If approved by Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet, a consultation on the strategy will be held in the summer.
