Housing Plan - 2018-2023 (Consultation Draft - June 2018) 1 - Sywell Parish ...
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Housing Plan
2018-2023 (Consultation Draft - June 2018)
1
Contents Page Number
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 Focus of the Housing Plan 4
3.0 Links to other Local Authority Policies and Strategies 4
4.0 Partnership Working 4
5.0 Developing New Homes to meet identified needs 6
6.0 Providing opportunities for people to access the most 18
appropriate form of housing to meet their needs
7.0 The prevention of, and responding to homelessness 19
8.0 Improving the quality of private sector housing 23
9.0 The Borough Council of Wellingborough’s Tenancy
27
Strategy
10.0 Review and monitoring 30
11.0 Equality 32
12.0 Appendices 38
13.0 Glossary of Terms 40
2
1. Introduction – Making Wellingborough a Place to be
Proud of
The last Housing Plan was produced in 2013 and it combined three Strategies;
Homelessness, Housing Strategy and Tenancy Strategy into one Housing Plan for
the Borough of Wellingborough
This new Housing Plan seeks to build on the success and progress achieved in
recent years and is about ‘encouraging independence’ and helping people to be self-
reliant and responsible residents.
The next 5 years will be an exciting time for Wellingborough as it embarks on the
largest expansion of the town since the 1960s. There are two urban extensions to
Wellingborough to the east and north of the town, which will bring much needed new
homes, schools, community centres, sports and recreational facilities as well as
cycle paths, areas of open space and stunning parkland. These will also provide a
huge boost to the local economy with new jobs, and with those jobs will come more
opportunity and life choices for both existing and new residents of the borough.
Wellingborough is an ambitious authority which is fully committed to working with its
development partners, landowners and registered providers to deliver high quality
growth that meets the needs of our existing and future residents.
The council believes that choice, flexibility and availability of housing are critical to
the social and economic wellbeing of the borough. So we will enable a full range of
housing to meet the needs of different groups of our community including families
with children, older people, people with disabilities and the young. This will include a
range of different sizes, types and tenures of properties to meet the variety of needs
for people of different income levels.
This Housing Plan will seek to deliver on the councils Corporate Directives: PRIDE
Partnership working is vital to delivering the important work that is needed to fulfil the
actions contained with this plan. We are grateful to the many organisations who
attended the workshop in November 2017. The comments and feedback from that
session has been taken on board in the development of this document and we
welcome our partners’ future continued engagement in shaping and delivering
services and seeking the best very practices across the Borough.
Councillor Martin Griffiths
Leader of the Council
3
2. Focus of this Housing Plan
This Plan provides a picture of the housing needs of the Borough and considers how
the resources of the council and others can be used to deliver these housing needs
with a programme of actions.
This aim of this housing plan is to:
- Deliver new homes, growth and infrastructure
- Enable new business, jobs, skills and training
- Contribute to good physical and social health
- Provide a stable housing environment
- Tackle poverty
It was agreed at the Services Committee meeting in September 20171 that the key
high level/strategic housing priorities for the updated plan are:
- Developing new affordable homes to meet identified housing need
- The prevention of, and responding to, homelessness
- Providing opportunities for people to access the most appropriate form of
housing to meet their needs
- Increasing access to and the quality of private sector housing
These four areas therefore form the main scope of this plan, along with the Tenancy
Strategy. It is also the intention that the housing plan provides leadership and works
with partners to ensure innovation, efficiency and responsiveness in local services.
It is intended that a separate Homelessness Strategy will be produced after the
publication of this plan in accordance with statutory requirements.
3. Links to Other Local Authority Policies and Strategies
This Plan links to the following Key Plans, Policies and Strategies:-
• The Borough Council of Wellingborough Allocation Policy (updated January
2018 Version 6)
• The Borough Council of Wellingborough Private Sector Housing Policy 2014-9
(September 2017 Version 9)
• North Northamptonshire Joint Core Spatial Strategy, adopted July 2016
• The Plan for the Borough of Wellingborough, Publication Plan, September
2017
• North Northants Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2016-2020
• SEMLEP Strategic Economic Plan
• Wellingborough Economic Development Strategy 2016-21
4. Partnership Working
1
http://www.wellingborough.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/992/services_committee (Item 5)
4
Key Partnerships to deliver this Housing Plan
There are a number of key organisations and partnership groups whose involvement
will be critical to helping to deliver the actions in this Housing Plan.
These are listed below but are by no means exhaustive. In the Review and
Monitoring Section of this plan, there is a table which shows the relevant section of
the plan where the input of each of these groups is expected to be most relevant.
Northants Health and Well Being Forum
The Northamptonshire Health and Wellbeing Board became a statutory body in
2013. It comprises strategic partners from public health, the clinical commissioning
group, social care, housing, education, police, voluntary sector and Health Watch.
The Wellingborough Health and Wellbeing Forum helps enable this agenda locally
and has played a key role in monitoring delivery of the previous Housing Plan
against key actions and health indicators.
North Northants Joint Planning and Delivery Unit
The first joint planning partnership (Joint Planning Unit) in the Country continues to
provide a planning policy service for the North Northants sub region. This includes
Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and East Northants. The North Northamptonshire
Core Spatial Strategy was adopted in July 2016 and sets a number of key policies in
housing which sets a consistent approach for housing delivery across the sub region.
Registered Providers
Our strategic partnerships with Registered Providers continue, and their delivery of
quality and effective housing products and services within the Borough of
Wellingborough will be integral to the success of the Housing Plan.
Wellingborough Homes is the largest social rented housing provider, receiving the
Council housing stock in 2007. The Council enjoys a strong working relationship and
will continue to work in partnership with Wellingborough Homes to ensure the
availability and delivery of quality housing and housing services.
Northants Social Landlords Housing Management Forum and the Development
Forum
These meetings run quarterly and are rotated across the county. They are used to
update landlords and other key agencies on local and national changes and matters
of interest as well as providing an opportunity for the sharing of information,
benchmarking and good practice.
Chief Housing Officers Group
Heads of Housing or Principal Housing Officers across the eight local authorities in
Northants meet quarterly to look at high level strategic and housing issues across
the county.
Homes England
5
Formerly the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), this is the national housing
and regeneration agency for England. This is a key partner to enable/facilitate
delivery of housing especially on the larger Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUEs).
Home Improvement Agencies
These work with local authorities in delivering Care and Repair services that assist
older and disabled residents to repair, renovate and adapt their homes.
Northants Older Persons Housing Working Group
A recently established group of Strategic Housing and Planning Policy Officers
across the eight local authorities and Commissioning Officers from Northants Adult
Social Services (NASS). The group looks at future provision of older persons
housing provision across the county.
Voluntary Sector
Successful outcome-based partnerships with the voluntary sector are critical to the
delivery of this Plan. Past projects with the Voluntary Sector include:-
• A contract with Citizens’ Advice to provide personal money management
advice (including budgeting, income maximisation and debt management)
• Work with the services within the Financial Inclusion Social Hub (FISH) shop
(a one-stop shop for money and welfare advice) in Cambridge Street and;
• Bassetts Court (Mayday Trust) which is looking to help people move on from
Bassetts into less supported accommodation
SEMLEP
The council works closely with the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership
(SEMLEP) to support growth across the region. The main context for this work is
outlined in SEMLEP’s Strategic Economic Plan. We support this policy development
and consider the outcomes locally to help employment, training and apprenticeship
opportunities. We also work with partners to support bids for funding opportunities.
5. To Develop New Homes to Meet Identified Needs
The affordability picture has changed since the last Housing Plan for Wellingborough
was published in 2013. House prices have continued to rise in Northamptonshire at a
faster rate than income levels. Overall housing supply has failed to meet demand,
contributing to increasing housing costs.
This has had an impact on all parts of the housing market. Private rents in addition to
overall house prices have continued to rise. The overall picture highlights the need
for new affordable housing solutions to help meet the need.
The Council’s 2018-19 Annual Business Plan highlights the importance of new
housing as one of its ‘key projects and activities for 2018-19.’ In particular it
highlights:
6
• The growing need for rented housing and that currently there are 633
households on the council’s waiting list (May 2018) for social/affordable
rented housing.
• The lack of social and affordable housing and the impact on the level of
people that are housed temporarily when they become homeless. Currently
there are 104 households in temporary accommodation; the vast majority
(77) are in hotels or other similar short term solutions.
• The ‘drastic’ effect that temporary accommodation costs are having on the
council’s revenue budget, as well as the effect this has on households.
The Business Plan therefore sets an action to actively seek solutions to address the
growing need for more affordable and social rented properties in the borough. It also
states that the council will continue to work with key housing partners as well as
potentially develop its own assets to provide this much needed additional housing.
What has been achieved during the 2013-18 Housing Plan
• 452 affordable homes completed between 2013-18 at an average of 90
homes per annum
• The 74 affordable homes per annum target (set in the last Housing Plan) have
therefore been exceeded during that period
• Approximately £4.5M of affordable housing grant invested in new homes in
Wellingborough since 2013
• BCW have provided capital funding to ‘Kick Start’ projects such as: Buckwell
End (23 units) and The Embankment £129K (19 units)
Affordability
The Council encourages Registered Providers (RPs) and developers to have regard
to affordability when determining tenure types and rent levels. It is generally
accepted that housing costs should not represent more than around a third of a
household’s income in order to be sustainable and affordable, no more than 30% of
gross income. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
guidance for lending is 3.5 times income for single income households and 2.9 times
income for dual income households should be used. Though this guidance has not
been updated, as a general guide 4 times income is used for these purposes. For
affordable rent it is assumed gross rent will be 25% of gross income and rents will
mirror Local Housing Allowance rates.
House prices
The table below shows average asking prices for Wellingborough by location, size
and type.
1 bed 2 bed flat 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed
flat/house house house house
BCW overall £131,636 £151,428 £201,888 £209,182 £361,950
Wellingborough £121,714 £145,833 £173,000 £197,428 £271,000
Rural areas £149,000 £185,000 £210,142 £242,100 £401,750
(Source: Rightmove Asking Price data - accessed April 2018)
7
Land registry data2 indicates that house prices overall in Wellingborough rose by 5.7
per cent between April 2017 and April 2018. The table below shows that the overall
annual increase in house prices was higher in Wellingborough and
Northamptonshire as a whole than the East Midlands and nationally.
LA area House prices House prices Percentage
April 2017 April 2018 increase
Wellingborough £194,890 £206,030 5.7
Corby £166.090 £181,367 9.2
Daventry £258,448 £276,926 7.2
East Northants £213,460 £236,528 10.8
Kettering £179,865 £200,220 11.3
Northampton £198,259 £211,158 6.5
South Northants £298,153 £326,025 9.4
Northants £209,668 £226,982 8.3
East Midlands £177,942 £186,480 4.8
England £235,021 £243,639 3.7
United Kingdom £218,481 £226,906 3.9
Income data
The table below shows the mean (average), median (middle) and mode (most
frequent/common) income levels for Wellingborough.
Gross
Average annual
(mean) Average income
house (median) needed for Ratio of house
prices incomes a mortgage prices to
20183 20184 (90% at 4x) incomes
Wellingborough £206,030 £29,590 £46,357 7
United Kingdom £226,926 £31,330 £51,058 7.2
Housing Rents
The following table provides rents for the various tenure types in the borough.
2
Land Registry data (April 2018) http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ukhpi/browse?from=2017-04-
01&location=http%3A%2F%2Flandregistry.data.gov.uk%2Fid%2Fregion%2Fwellingborough&to=2018
-04-01
3
Land Registry data (April 2018) http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ukhpi/browse?from=2017-04-
01&location=http%3A%2F%2Flandregistry.data.gov.uk%2Fid%2Fregion%2Fwellingborough&to=2018
-04-01
4
CACA April 2018 data
8
Average Weekly Rent 1 bed 2 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed
flat flat house house house
Market
(Based on Prices Available in £125 £146 £157 £172 £238
March 2018)
Affordable
£100 £116.80 £125.60 £137.60 £190.40
(80% of Market rents)
Social
(Based on Wellingborough
Homes 2017/18 rental prices £69.96 £78.10 £86.54 £97.96 £101.17
– not including service
charge)
(Source: Wellingborough Homes and Right Move data 2018)
Local Housing Allowances
The following table shows the maximum level of local housing allowance
entitlements across the Wellingborough area.
Shared One bed Two Bed Three Bed Four Bed
Room
Rate
£52.24 £82.40 £105.94 £123.58 £164.79
(Source: www.voa.gov.uk (Northants Central) as at March 2018)
The tables above demonstrate a significant shortfall between the local housing
allowance rate and the average private rent levels. Under Welfare Reform, those
under the age of 35 and single with no dependants are only entitled to the shared
room rate. This makes access to the private rented sector out of the reach of a single
person in receipt of benefit.
The need for new homes
Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA)
The Councils of North Northamptonshire and the Joint Planning Unit commissioned
a Strategic Housing Market Assessment in 2012. This provides projected household
requirements between 2011-2031 with various scenarios based on natural change
and migration led, with and without backlog or household bed size adjustments.
The (SHMA) was revised in January 20155 and table 9.10 of that report (page 18)
identifies that the following breakdown of units is required to meet projected housing
requirements 2011-2031:
5
http://www.nnjpu.org.uk/docs/20141023-NNJPU-SHMA%20Update-
Housing%20Reqs%20Tech%20Report%20-%20FINAL.pdf
9
Housing requirements Wellingborough 2011-31
(Natural Change not adjusted for backlog)
Tenure Sector Shared 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed+ Totals
Affordable Social
0 1,486 248 778 42 2,554
Rent 36.49%
Affordable
0 74 12 39 2 127 1.82%
Rent
Intermediate Shared
0 49 49 154 8 506 6.62%
Ownership
Market Private
0 268 45 140 8 461 3.71%
Rent
Owner 39.52%
0 1,950 325 1,021 56 3,352
Occupier
Totals 100.0%
0 4,073 679 2,132 116 7,000
(Source: North Northamptonshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment 2015)
The table above shows there is a significant need for one bedroom and three
bedroom accommodation across all housing tenures. For affordable housing this
means that the following breakdown of property size is required:
• 1 bed (58%)
• 2 bed (10%)
• 3 bed (30%)
• Some 4+ bed (2%)
The Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) (2012) identified that the
following breakdown should be applied to meet affordable housing needs:
• 77% social rented
• 18% affordable rented
• 5% shared ownership
Overall housing requirement
The following table shows Wellingborough’s share of objectively assessed needs in
the North Northants Housing Market Area.
Housing Requirement (2011-31) Annual average dwellings (2011-31)
7000 350
(Source: North Northants Joint Core Strategy, Policy 28)
This overall provision for Wellingborough is also broken down by Settlement in the
North Northants Joint Core Strategy (Policy 29)6. The Housing Land Supply
6
http://www.nnjpu.org.uk/docs/Joint%20Core%20Strategy%202011-2031_Jan3_Main-Minor_v5.pdf
10
document7 also provides a breakdown of overall dwelling completions since 2011.
This shows that overall the number of completions since 2011-12 was below the JCS
annual requirement in all but the years 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Affordable Housing Delivery
The following table shows Wellingborough’s Affordable Housing Completions 2013-
18 by tenure type.
Year Social Rent Affordable Rent Shared Ownership Rentplus Total
2017-18 0 12 14 12 38
2016-17 30 10 0 - 40
2015-16 27 26 38 - 91
2014-15 69 47 25 - 141
2013-14 124 10 8 - 142
TOTAL 250 105 85 12 452
(Source: BCW/CDP Planning Records)
During the period 2013-18, 355 (79%) of the 452 units of new affordable housing
developed were social or affordable rented.
Affordable
Housing
Comple4ons
by
tenure
2013-‐8
12
74
Social
rent
208
affordable
rent
Shared
Ownership
Rent
plus
211
7
http://www.wellingborough.gov.uk/downloads/file/7800/plan_for_the_borough_of_wellingborough_hou
sing_land_supply_report_background_paper_publication_version-_september_2017
11
In terms of actual supply of new affordable housing units, the SHMA 2015 pointed to
a need for 3,187 units between 2011 and 2031 or 159 units per annum. The overall
supply of affordable housing between 2013-18 falls short of the 795 required during
the local plan period.
Annual
Comple4ons
of
affordable
housing
Vs
SHMA
requirement
180
160
140
SHMA
annual
overall
120
requirement
for
100
affordable
housing
80
60
Annual
compleIons
of
new
affordable
housing
40
20
0
2013/4
2014/5
2015/6
2016/7
2017/8
The previous Housing Plan (2013-18) set a target of 74 units per annum, which was
derived from past performance. Although the number of affordable housing
completions between 2013-18 (452 units) falls short of the need identified in the
SHMA by 343 it does however exceed the overall Housing Plan target of 370. This is
an average of just over 90 units of affordable housing.
As stated previously, the total number of overall housing completions since 2011
falls short of the target identified in the Joint Core Strategy for North Northants. This
demonstrates that the issue of delivery is across all housing tenures rather than
limited to affordable housing.
For the period 2018-23 it is proposed therefore to set a target of 90 affordable
housing units per year based on past delivery. It should be noted however that if a
target was based on identified need from the SHMA, it would be 159 units per year.
ACTION: Ensure that the mix of affordable housing in regard to both size and
tenure types are determined by the identified need in the SHMA report.
ACTION: To increase the affordable housing target from 74 units to 90 units
per annum to reflect the delivery recorded during the previous plan period.
Housing Register
There are approximately 633 applicants on the housing register as at May 2018.
These are prioritised for housing based on need and assessed within bands. The
Allocations Policy has been regularly updated since the last Housing Plan was
published in 2013 and the register periodically reviewed to ensure that it represents
an accurate picture of housing need.
12
It should be noted that the housing register primarily shows the need for social and
affordable rented properties and is only a snapshot at any one time of the need for
affordable housing. The SHMA shows the need for all affordable housing and
therefore is the only robust indicator of the types of new housing required to meet
evidenced need.
There are a significant number of applicants under the age of 35 on the housing
register. This presents a particular challenge under welfare reform. The Local
Housing Allowance for under 35s is now only paid at a shared room rate (see
affordability table).
The number of households requiring larger size properties is also significant. These
are often more challenging and costly to produce through the planning process.
The Joint Core Strategy Policy 30 requires all dwellings in future to meet Category 2
Accessibility Standards – this should potentially help to meet the needs of people
requiring some adaptation. There are a high number of applicants on the current
housing register who have declared a disability. This demonstrates the need for
adapted and flexible properties. The last Housing Plan set a target that 5% of all
properties should be wheelchair accessible. This target will be carried forward to
2018-23 to reflect the continued need for this type of housing.
ACTION: That 5% of all housing be wheelchair accessible (Category 3 of the
National Accessibility Standards).
Shared Ownership
Since the last housing plan was published in 2013 the government has set up a
dedicated Help to Buy8 scheme. The scheme enables applicants to buy a home with
as little as 5% towards a deposit. Products covered by the scheme include shared
ownership along with equity loans and mortgage guarantees. The scheme is open to
first time buyers and other eligible households. In the East Midlands the scheme is
operated by Orbit.
As at February 2018, there were 53 eligible applicants on the register for properties
in the Wellingborough area. A breakdown by age cohort of these applicants can be
found in the Appendix. As can be seen the majority of applicants (73%) are between
the ages of 18 and 39 with 27% being over the age of 40.
Homeless Households
It is the responsibility of the council to assess applicants who are homeless or about
to become homeless. There is huge pressure on the council to find enough
properties for the residents of Wellingborough who are looking for suitable and
affordable housing. The Localism Act 2011 gave Councils the opportunity to end
their homeless duty with an offer of a property in the private rented sector.
8
https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/
13
As demonstrated earlier, current private rented property prices are significantly
above the local housing allowance rate. This means that the private rented sector is
out of reach for most households in receipt of welfare benefits. In November 2017,
the council’s Resources Committee agreed to invest £725K towards a capital project
to provide temporary accommodation solutions.
Other solutions need to be sought through the development process. An action is
being set therefore in this housing plan to identify and explore these options further.
This may need to be considered as part of the Homelessness Strategy or through a
Supplementary Planning Document.
ACTION: To seek opportunities to develop temporary accommodation
solutions as part of the council’s commitment to provide affordable housing.
Planning Policy
The North Northants Core Strategy (adopted July 2016) sets the overall framework
for housing delivery. Policy 29 of this strategy sets the overall distribution of new
homes. Policy 30 sets the following target for the provision of new affordable
housing:
On private sector developments of 15 or more dwellings (net).
Sustainable Urban Extensions (47899 20% of total dwellings
units)
Growth Towns and Market Towns 30% of total dwellings
Rural areas 40% of total dwellings
Policy 30 states that affordable housing will be provided on site unless the developer
can demonstrate exceptional circumstances which necessitate provision on another
site. The council’s policy will be to seek onsite provision and only seek a commuted
sum where it has been demonstrated by an independent person that such provision
is not viable. Such sums can then be used anywhere within the borough to meet
identified need.
The council will continue to seek nomination rights for all affordable rented and social
rented housing provided as part of a section planning application. Local Lettings
Policies (LLP) have been applied to schemes where there has been a need to
ensure sustainability. This will continue to be the case.
It is expected that during the next plan period there will be a considerable rise in the
number of shared ownership and rent to buy products developed in this authority.
This will arise from the focus on these through the national affordable housing
programme.
These will not in the main be allocated through the housing register but through the
Government’s Help to Buy Scheme (Shared Ownership) and the Registered
9
Housing Land Supply - The Plan for the Borough of Wellingborough: Background Paper (September
2017) Table 9
http://www.wellingborough.gov.uk/downloads/file/7800/plan_for_the_borough_of_wellingborough_hou
sing_land_supply_report_background_paper_publication_version-_september_2017
14
Providers criteria (Rent to Buy). These however will be prioritised to those with a
connection to Wellingborough.
Older Persons Housing
The SHMA update highlights the growth in older households (65+ age group) as the
most pressing issue facing councils across North Northamptonshire. The SHMA
Toolkit projects the number of pensioner households requiring specialist housing as
686 dwellings over the plan period, which equates to 34 per year. A more recent
study commissioned by Northamptonshire Councils identified that the need could be
as high as 83 dwellings per year.
Outright sale Shared Social Rent Total
ownership/equity
50 33 0 83
(Source: Three Dragons Study of the support needs of Older Persons across
Northamptonshire 2017, Table 3.1)
Policy 30 of the Joint Core Strategy encourages the provision of specialised housing
to meet the needs of older people. The (emerging) Local Plan sets two policies in
relation to Older Person Housing. On sites of 50 or more dwellings or 1.4 ha or more
site area, the local planning authority will seek a proportion of housing to meet the
needs of older households based on evidence of local need, scale and location of
the site and viability. It also supports the development of Retirement Housing,
Supported Housing and Care Homes that have good access to local facilities and
public transport routes.
It should be noted that although the study proposed that there was not a need for
additional social rented units, there has been a consistent number of applicants for
sheltered housing on the housing register.
ACTION: To work with developers and partner agencies such as NASS to
ensure that the supply of housing for older persons meets identified need
Rural Housing
The council’s (emerging) Local Plan builds on the approach of the Joint Core
Strategy to support development to meet local needs and aspirations. Policy 29 of
the Joint Core Strategy identifies specific housing requirements for the named
settlements of Earls Barton, Finedon, Irchester and Wollaston. An overall
requirement is then set for the remainder of the rural area, derived from evidence of
local need. Past completions in the rural area outside of the named areas have
arisen as the result of infill plots, conversions and exception sites on the edge of the
village for affordable housing. These collectively are known as windfall sites.
Policies 11 and 13 in the Joint Core Strategy seek to ensure that development to
meet local needs will be supported.
15
The council has a duty to review housing needs and a 5 year rolling programme of
rural housing needs surveys is set out on the council’s website.10
ACTION: To maintain an up-to-date programme of rural housing needs surveys
ACTION: To work proactively with registered providers, developers, support
commissioners and providers, parish councils and other stakeholders to
develop affordable housing to meet identified needs.
Self-Build/Custom Build
As part of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, local authorities are required to help
find land for those who have an interest in building their own home. This is done
through the register of persons seeking to acquire land to build a home.
As of 1 April 2016, councils in England have been required to maintain a list of
people or groups who would like to ‘self-build’ their own home. Local authorities in
England have also committed to make enough serviced plots available to meet the
demand (which can be ascertained by the number registering on the self-build and
custom housing register). The JPDU are about to commission a study on self-build
demand across the North Northants area.
Since 2016 the Council has been keeping a register of everyone interested in self-
build opportunities in the borough either as an individual or as an association.
Policy 30 of the JCS supports opportunities for individual and community self-build
projects and requires that Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUEs) and other strategic
sites make service plots available to facilitate this sector of the market.
The (emerging) Local Plan sets two policies in relation to providing self-build
opportunities. On sites of 50 or more dwellings of 1.4 ha or more site area, 5% of the
plots should be made available for sale as serviced building plots. It also sets a
policy to support single plot exceptions sites for self-build in accordance with Policy
13 of the Joint Core Strategy.
There is the potential therefore for self-build opportunities both in rural areas through
exception sites and across the wider borough of Wellingborough through making
self-build plots available on larger sites.
ACTION: Provide self-build opportunities for affordable housing on rural
exception sites and across the borough of Wellingborough by working closely
with Developers to identify suitable sites.
National Affordable Housing Policy
The Housing White Paper “Fixing our broken housing market”11 was published in
February 2017 and sets out a broad range of reforms that government plans to
10
http://www.wellingborough.gov.uk/info/200149/affordable_housing/1233/housing_need_survey
11
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-white-paper
16
increase the supply of new homes. In addition to proposals designed to speed up the
planning process in regard to new homes, it also invested an extra £1.4bn into the
Affordable Homes Programme and restated government support to enable people to
buy their own home through Help to Buy and starter homes.
Since then there have been further government consultations on calculating Housing Need
and proposed changes to the National Policy and Planning Framework which includes a
broadening of the affordable housing definition to include Starter Homes.
Homes England
In April 2016 the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) opened bidding to the
Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme (SOAHP) (2016 to 2021)12
through publication of a prospectus. The HCA was relaunched by the government as
Homes England on the 11 January 2018. Homes England brings together land,
money, expertise, and planning and compulsory purchase powers, with a clear remit
to facilitate delivery of sufficient new homes, where they are most needed and to
deliver a sustained improvement in affordability.13
ACTION: To work closely with Homes England to target investment in new
affordable homes to meet need as informed by the SHMA evidence base
Summary of Actions / Targets
Key targets for 2018-23
Size and type of Ensure that the mix of affordable housing in regard to both
new affordable size and tenure types are determined by the identified need in
housing the SHMA report.
Supply of new To increase the affordable housing target from 74 units to 90
affordable housing units per annum to reflect the delivery recorded during the
previous plan period
Wheelchair That 5% of all affordable housing be wheelchair accessible
accessible housing (Category 3 of the National Accessibility Standards).
Housing for To seek opportunities to develop temporary accommodation
homeless solutions as part of the councils commitment to provide
households affordable housing
Older persons To work with developers and partner agencies such as NASS
households to ensure that the supply of housing for older persons meets
identified need
Rural Affordable To maintain an up-to-date programme of rural housing needs
Housing surveys
12
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/shared-ownership-and-affordable-homes-programme-
2016-to-2021-guidance
13
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/homes-england/about
17
Rural Affordable To work proactively with registered providers, developers,
Housing support commissioners and providers, parish councils and
other stakeholders to develop affordable housing to meet
identified needs.
Self-build affordable Provide self-build opportunities for affordable housing on rural
housing exception sites and across the borough of Wellingborough by
working closely with Registered Providers to identify suitable
sites.
Affordable Housing To work closely with Homes England to target investment in
Grant new homes to meet need as informed by the SHMA evidence
base
6. Providing opportunities for people to access the most
appropriate form of housing to meet their needs
What has been achieved during the 2013-8 Housing Plan
• 1773 allocations through the Council’s Keyways service since 2013
• Tenants matching service developed with RPs
• Advice sessions in prisons and school (series of education sessions with
schools: Christopher Hatton, Weavers)
• Training sessions with Registered Providers and other agencies
Choice Based Lettings and the Allocation Policy
The Local Authority’s Choice Based Lettings Scheme (CBL) Keyways, currently has
633 active households on the system (May 2018).
The Allocation Policy is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it remains fit for
purpose and continues to meet need in the borough. The current allocation policy
was amended in January 2018 following a period of consultation with registered
providers (RPs). A number of changes were made to the priority bands in order to
meet the needs of applicants as well as include the council’s new responsibilities
arising from the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA).
ACTION: Local Authority to continue to review the allocation policy on a
regular basis and update to meet needs as appropriate
The council assesses all housing applications to ensure applicants are eligible for
housing. Currently there are 19 Housing Providers who advertise their vacant
properties via the CBL system. The verification process is completed again once the
applicant is ‘matched’ to a property. Since 2013 there have been 1773 allocations.
The Keyways system allows other organisations/landlords to advertise
accommodation, for example low cost home ownership products, private rented
properties and private sales.
18
ACTION: Local Authority to offer training sessions to local housing providers
to advertise and promote their properties via the Keyway site
The council has a ring fenced budget for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP).
DHP is an extra payment to help people who claim housing benefit to cover their
rental payments but still struggle to pay their rent and make ends meet. Claims are
made to the council and awards are time limited whilst applicants seek more
affordable housing options. Over recent years, the Borough Council of
Wellingborough, unlike many other councils, has fully spent its DHP grant allocation
The council is actively seeking opportunities to promote home ownership schemes
such as Rent to Buy and Shared Ownership as well as encourage the provision of
more affordable rented products. This could involve expanding eligibility criteria in
the council’s allocation policy to those who are not currently in housing need but wish
to be considered for shared ownership and other tenures such as private rented,
affordable private rent and starter homes.
ACTION: Local Authority to continue negotiations with Housing Providers via
the S106 agreements to promote other housing schemes such as Rent to Buy,
Shared Ownership etc.
ACTION: To explore the inclusion within the housing allocation policy of
applicants seeking shared ownership or other tenures of housing such as
private rented.
Summary of Actions / Targets
Key targets for 2018-23
Allocation Policy Local Authority to continue to review the allocation policy
regularly and update to meet needs as appropriate
Training Local Authority to offer training sessions to local housing
providers to advertise and promote their properties via the
Keyway site
Partnership working Local Authority to continue negotiations with Housing
Providers via the S106 agreements to promote other housing
schemes such as Rent to Buy, Shared Ownership etc.
Widening choice To explore the inclusion of applicants seeking alterative
housing tenures within the council’s housing allocation policy
7. The prevention of, and responding to homelessness
The Homelessness Act 2002 introduced the duty for Local Authorities to produce a
review of Homelessness in their area and to produce a Homelessness Strategy. This
Strategy is to be reviewed every 5 years. The 2013-18 Housing Plan incorporated
the Homelessness Strategy.
19
It is proposed that a separate Homelessness Strategy be produced for the period up
to 2023. In this Housing Plan, therefore, consideration will be limited to
achievements over the period of the last plan. This will look at current levels of
homelessness and the pressures this creates. It will also look at the impact on the
housing register and the demand for temporary accommodation. It will propose key
actions for taking forward into the forthcoming Homelessness Strategy.
What we have achieved during the 2013-18 Housing Plan
• Working with RPs and other local authorities on a pre-eviction protocol to
identify those at risk of eviction earlier in the process
• New county protocols for 16 and 17 year olds and Care Leavers
• Working with Amicus Trust to provide 3 accommodation schemes in the
borough for single homeless persons
• Introduction of an intensive management accommodation scheme (IMA) with
Wellingborough Homes to provide self- contained temporary homes and
reduce/avoid lengthy and expensive stays in hotel accommodation
• Outreach work in schools, prisons and children’s centres
Building on these achievements, work will continue to develop partnership working
with other agencies and to further extend outreach work within the community.
Homeless Legislation
It is the responsibility of the local authority to assess applicants who are homeless or
are threatened with homelessness. Since 2013, 1101 households have approached
the Borough Council of Wellingborough for assistance.
In April 2018, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (HRA) was implemented. This
new legislation includes a greater focus on the prevention of homelessness and new
duties to take steps to relieve homelessness.
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 extends the number of days that a person
can be deemed threatened with homelessness from 28 days (Housing Act 1996
Section 175) to 56 days.
The 1996 Housing Act contained a general duty on English Local Authorities (LAs) to
ensure that advice and information about homelessness, and preventing
homelessness, is available free of charge to everyone in their district. Under the
2017 Act, local authorities are required to provide or secure the provision of free
services to give people in their area information and advice on:
• preventing homelessness
• securing accommodation if homeless
• the rights of people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and
• any help that is available for people who are homeless or likely to become
homeless as well as how to access that help
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The new Act places a legal obligation on local authorities to assess and provide
more meaningful assistance to all people who are eligible and homeless or
threatened with homelessness, irrespective of their priority need status.
As part of this legislation, the council must work with all applicants to produce a
personalised housing plan which will identify the actions and responsibilities of both
parties.
Outreach
Housing Options Officers have been active in the community, holding outreach
sessions with local schools, children’s centres, prisons and other support agencies in
the borough to raise awareness of housing issues and housing options. These
sessions aim to reduce the amount of parental evictions which make up 20% of all
homelessness acceptances.
Private Rented Sector
The number of households approaching the council with a notice to quit from their
landlord has increased steadily from 21% of all applications in 2013-14 to 31% in
2017-18. This may be in part due to the fact that the Local Housing Allowance has
been frozen and is no longer in line with market prices, therefore making more
private rented sector properties unaffordable, and due to increasing private sector
rent levels.
Current Homelessness Situation
Homelessness applications/acceptances
The graph above demonstrates a significant increase in the numbers of households
accepted as homeless across the borough since the last Housing Plan. Increasing
homelessness is being seen across Northamptonshire and nationally.
21
Homeless Households in Temporary Accommodation
The graph below shows there has also been a significant increase in the number of
homeless households placed in temporary accommodation since the last Housing
Plan. This has been most noticeable since the numbers of homeless applications
began to increase significantly from March 2017.
Number
of
homeless
households
in
Temporary
accommoda4on
at
the
end
of
each
qtr
2015-‐8
(source
P1e
data)
120
100
Total
in
Temporary
80
AccommodaIon
60
Hotels
and
B&B
40
accommodaIon
20
0
Self
Contained
Jun-‐15
Sep-‐15
Dec-‐15
Mar-‐16
Sep-‐16
Mar-‐17
Jun-‐17
Sep-‐17
Dec-‐17
Mar-‐18
Jun-‐16
Dec-‐16
accommodaIon
As the council transferred its housing stock in 2007, temporary accommodation has
to be sourced from partner housing associations and the private sector. The council
has developed a scheme with registered providers and some private landlords to
provide good quality, self-contained temporary accommodation. However this has
proved insufficient to meet the rapidly increasing demand and so there has been a
continued reliance on hotel and other short stay self-contained, but expensive
temporary accommodation in order to meet the rising need.
The rise in private sector rents above local housing allowance levels (see section
Delivering New Homes) has meant that it has become extremely difficult to access
private rented accommodation for households on low incomes, or dependent on
benefits.
In the future there is a need to source temporary accommodation solutions which
reduce the reliance on bed and breakfast and other expensive temporary
accommodation options.
Rough Sleeping
Numbers of rough sleepers have increased in the borough of Wellingborough over
the last 12 months and nationally. The government has introduced a new Rough
Sleeping Initiative and made a commitment to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and
eliminating it altogether by 2027.
The Homelessness Strategy will address the issue of rough sleeping taking into
account emerging national policy.
22
A homeless forum has been set up by the voluntary sector in the borough in the last
12 months.
Challenges facing the next Homelessness Strategy
• Escalating levels of homelessness both nationally and in the borough
• Consequent increased need for temporary accommodation
• Increased cost to council of expensive temporary accommodation
• National and local increase in private sector evictions (now the main reason
for homelessness)
• Lack of suitable affordable rented properties to meet housing need
• High private sector rent levels in the borough
• Reduction in the number of private sector landlords willing to rent to
applicants in receipt of welfare benefits
Summary of Actions / Targets
Key targets for 2018-23
Temporary To continue to seek good quality alternative temporary
Accommodation accommodation solutions for households facing
homelessness avoiding the use of bed and breakfast
accommodation
Homelessness To develop a new Homelessness Strategy during 2018 to
Strategy include an approach to rough sleeping.
8. Improving the quality and suitability of private sector
housing
What has been achieved during the 2013-18 Housing Plan
• There has been a 40% reduction in the amount of empty properties in the
borough
• 311 Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) have been delivered to residents
• An additional Housing Technician has been recruited increasing the capacity
of the private sector housing team to deliver services to vulnerable customers
• The team has adapted its approach to dealing with housing conditions and
now undertakes more proactive work alongside responding to complaints from
residents
• A greater focus across the council on identifying houses in multiple
accommodation and ensuring they are compliant with legislation and provide
a good quality housing option
23
Local Context
The 2011 Census showed that there were 33,250 households in Borough Council of
Wellingborough, with the housing stock made up as follows:
• Owner occupied 22,559
• Private rental 4,831
• Affordable rental 5,860
The last Housing Condition Survey in Wellingborough was undertaken in 2010-11.
Approximately 8,000 (30%) of the properties in the private rental and owner occupied
sectors are estimated to not meet the Decent Homes Standard. The cost to rectify
this non-decency is estimated at £2,000 per property, a total of £17.8m. An
estimated 4,860 properties (18%) were assessed as exhibiting a category 1 hazard
using the Housing Health Safety Rating System (HHSRS). 14
There are 4,956 households with disabilities and of these 1,232 homes failed the
Decent Homes Standard. Currently there are 57 households with adaptation work
ongoing under a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) application. These grants help
disabled residents towards the cost of adapting their home to enable them to
continue to live there. 210 enquiries were received in the last year regarding
adaptations for properties under DFG funding. This provision reduces the reliance on
hospital beds and enables discharge. These grants cover a variety of adaptations to
be made to a property. The grants are means tested. Up to 80 adaptations per
annum on average are carried out.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy published data to show
that 4,188 in Wellingborough are estimated to be in fuel poverty, which represents
12.7% of all households in the borough.15
Home Improvement
Renovation grants
Renovation grants are available for owner occupiers and private landlords who
request certain qualifying works and are subject to a means test. Grants are
intended to improve a home which has been deemed unfit to live in or which needs
repair work carried out to prevent it becoming unfit. This funding is available for
vulnerable residents to help bring properties up to a decent standard. Grant funding
is also available to assist homeowners with bringing empty properties back into use
with a requirement that they are let on the open market for 5 years after work is
completed. This funding is split into two separate grants based on whether the cost
of works is under or over £1000. For grants under £1000 there is no requirement to
repay the cost of the grant upon selling the property.
14
Borough Council of Wellingborough, private sector housing condition survey, 2010
15
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics
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