Two Suffolk districts set out plans for new council homes
Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils want 65 new homes every year - to tackle shortages
Last updated 26th Oct 2022
Two Suffolk districts have made plans for 65 new homes every year for the next six years but councillors are concerned about whether enough smaller properties will be included.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils have pledged to each build or acquire 65 new homes a year until 2028.
Councillors at a meeting yesterday supported the plan as part of an updated Homes and Housing Strategy for both districts, although they expressed concern about the number of smaller homes for residents to downsize to.
The first housing strategy was developed in 2019 and expected to run until 2024. The council decided to relaunch it this year with the same aims but some new steps to achieve them – including the proposal for 65 new homes per year.
Some councillors at yesterday’s overview and scrutiny committee meeting scrutinised the new plan in the strategy to create a policy encouraging people to downsize.
Cllr Kathryn Grandon said: “If you haven’t got the homes for people to downsize to, attempts to encourage them to do so falls at the first hurdle.”
To the officer’s statement that an upcoming Older Persons Strategy will enable the council to identify the kinds of houses needed, Cllr Grandon responded: “I’m glad you are looking into the needs of older people, but it is not only these who may want to downsize.
“It seems some people may be paying extra rent for a larger property through no fault of their own – but because there is nowhere to downsize to.”
The committee councillors largely supported the strategy but asked that those councillors with responsibility for housing “consider further provision of financial and physical support to all residents who wish to downsize”.
Across the council’s own housing stock for both districts, just under one quarter are one-bedroom houses, 38 per cent have two bedrooms, 35 per cent have three bedrooms and one per cent have four bedrooms. This is not representative of the proportions of all houses in the districts.
The first aim of the housing strategy is to ensure the housing market functions effectively and provides homes which are as affordable as possible, to meet the needs of residents and support the local economy. The new plan for 65 new houses comes under this.
The second aim is to meet the needs of a wide range of different households through a wide and varied choice of good quality, sustainable homes of different sizes, types and tenures. The new policy to encourage people to downsize is part of this aim.
The third aim is around homelessness prevention and includes a new plan to review the Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy and produce a new one for adoption in 2024.
The homelessness strategy was produced alongside the housing one in 2019, and also encompasses both district councils.
The fourth aim is to make sure the councils are effective social landlords for their own housing stock and the next is for homes to be situated in high-quality environments.
The sixth aim, to make the best use of private sector land and private accommodation, includes new proposals to support improvements to energy efficiency needs as well as the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in this sector.
The other aims in the strategy are to ensure: people live in communities that meet their needs; everyone has a suitable home that allows them to live healthily, safely and independently, and the council has strong relationships with residents, developers and other relevant groups.