See Also
Corporate Plan 2007/11
Contact Us
Sophie Chadwick
Corporate Projects & Improvement
Email: sophie.chadwick
@thanet.gov.uk
Tel: 01843 577180
Quality Housing
What does this mean:
We want to ensure that irrespective of income or tenure, people
in Thanet have access to good quality and secure accommodation that
they can afford.
We will ensure that Thanet residents are given
appropriate priority of access to Council and Registered Social
Landlord homes in Thanet and will demand high standards of
behaviour from our tenants.
We will take strong enforcement action against
poor landlords in the private rented sector and will extend the
mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMO’s). We
will vigorously pursue every opportunity to force the owners of
empty properties, particularly those which are an eyesore, and
which have fallen into disrepair, to fulfil their obligations to
the local community by bringing their property back into use.
We will encourage developers who wish to build
quality homes, and for every development will insist that quality
of design and material is key. We will actively seek 106 Agreement
funding to provide additional community facilities whenever
possible.
Why is it a priority:
- Although house prices are lower than elsewhere in the South
East, the low level of household incomes in Thanet means that the
affordability gap is as great as the rest of the region;
- The large number of households on low incomes or benefits in
Thanet means that the demand for affordable / social housing is
high and there are over 4,000 people or families on the Council
housing register;
- Over 23,000 homes in the private sector fail the government’s
Decent Housing Standard. Over half of these are occupied by people
considered as vulnerable;
- In Kent, 8% of homes are in the private rented sector; in
Cliftonville West, the figure is 59%
What will we do:
|
Year
|
2
08
-09
|
3
09
-10
|
4
10
-11
|
(1)
11
-12
|
Project
Manager
|
|
1 Meet the future housing needs
of the District by:
|
|
|
|
|
Brian
White
|
|
a) delivering 200 new, affordable homes
through developer contributions in the planning system
|
|
l
|
|
|
Brian White
|
|
b) providing specialist accommodation for
the frail elderly and other vulnerable groups – 80 additional units
by 2010
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Amber Christou
|
|
c) preparing a schedule of derelict sites
for redevelopment as quality homes
|
l
|
|
|
|
Brian White
|
|
2 Through the Local
Development Framework, introduce planning policies and guidance
to:
|
|
|
|
|
Colin
Fitt
|
|
a) safeguard family homes and the
character and amenity of residential areas
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
|
Colin Fitt
|
|
b) deliver the homes required to achieve
a more balanced community, urban renaissance and economic
regeneration
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
|
Colin Fitt
|
|
3 Improve the
quality of housing in the private sector by:
|
|
|
|
|
Carla
Wenham-Jones
|
|
a) reducing the number of vulnerable
people living in non decent accommodation with 100 private sector
homes being made decent each year through the Council’s
intervention
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Carla Wenham-Jones
|
|
b) promoting initiatives and investment
to tackle fuel poverty for people on low incomes and living in poor
quality housing
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Carla Wenham-Jones
|
|
c) establishing a landlord accreditation
scheme in Thanet to encourage good and responsible landlords
|
|
l
|
|
|
Carla Wenham-Jones
|
|
4 Make the most of opportunities
arising from the Council’s own housing stock by:
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Madeline
Homer
|
|
a) exploring efficiencies and service
improvements through joint working with neighbouring stock-owning
councils
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Madeline Homer
|
|
b) maximising opportunities from the
Housing Revenue Account (HRA) land bank to provide new, affordable
housing
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Madeline Homer
|
|
c) agreeing with the Council’s
tenants and leaseholders a new 30-year business plan for the
HRA
|
|
l
|
|
|
Madeline Homer
|
|
5 Reduce
homelessness and improve the letting of social housing in Thanet
by:
|
|
|
|
|
Amber
Christou
|
|
a) reducing the number of households in
temporary accommodation to less that 55
|
|
|
l
|
|
Amber Christou
|
|
b) preventing 70 incidents of
homelessness each year through the Council’s intervention
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Amber Christou
|
|
c) reviewing the allocations policy to
give priority to local people and discourage the inward migration
of vulnerable households into the area
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Amber Christou
|
|
d) introducing choice-based lettings by
2010 for the allocation of Council and Registered Social Landlord
homes
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Amber Christou
|
|
6 Continue to improve
housing conditions in Cliftonville West and Margate Central
by:
|
|
|
|
|
Carla
Wenham-Jones
|
|
a) reducing the number of houses in
multiple occupation by 15 by 2011
|
|
|
l
|
|
Carla Wenham-Jones
|
|
b) reducing the level of private rented
accommodation in the renewal area from 59% to 54%
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
l
|
Carla Wenham-Jones
|
Our Performance
| BV212 |
Average number of days to re-let housing |
| DQH05 |
Number of affordable homes for rent delivered through section
106 agreements |
| BV064 |
The number of private sector vacant dwellings returned into
occupation or demolished as a direct result of local authority
action. |
| DQH02 |
Number of homeless families living in temporary
accommodation |
| NI155 |
Number of affordable homes delivered (gross) |
| NI158 |
Percentage of council homes which are non-decent |
Find out about our performance in the Annual Performance Report 2008
<Beautiful
Thanet Healthy
Communities>