Council accelerates provision of social rented and affordable homes for local people
Cotswold District Council has adopted a new Affordable Housing Delivery Strategy that will boost the provision of affordable and social rented housing for people in the Cotswolds.
This new strategy will see the Council increasing its partnership work with Registered Providers to deliver additional social rented housing and actively encouraging carbon neutral or low carbon homes for people on low incomes.
Cllr Lisa Spivey, Cabinet Member for Housing, says this is a big step forward for the Council to deliver on its housing priorities and help increase the delivery of affordable homes for local people.
Cllr Spivey, said: “With the Council’s new Affordable Housing Delivery Strategy, we are taking the lead on delivering truly affordable homes to meet the needs of the District. Not only will this strategy increase the delivery of social rented homes, but it will also provide support for young people through ‘rent to buy’ schemes.
“Our efforts to tackle the housing affordability crisis, climate emergency and the post-Covid economic challenges are key to ensuring that the Cotswolds remains a place where all its residents can thrive. It’s a challenge, but one that we are ready to take head-on.”
In addition to working with local housing associations to deliver rural exception sites, the Council wants to promote innovative alternative methods of providing rural affordable housing such as encouraging community-led housing approaches.
This includes working with Community Land Trusts through the Council’s Community-Led Housing Enablers and identifying opportunities for the Council to directly deliver rural housing, including through the use of its own land.
With the adoption of the Affordable Housing Delivery Strategy, the Council will now begin investigating which Council-owned sites could be developed or converted for social housing provision.
Decisions on initial sites to progress for social or affordable housing will be prepared for Cabinet later this year.
Cotswold District’s Cabinet unanimously approved the Affordable Housing Strategy at its meeting on Monday 8 February.
View the full Cabinet agenda and reports, here: http://bit.ly/3rc7YXP