Housing Strategies

The Strategic Housing Service is responsible for facilitating the production of the North Norfolk Housing Strategy as well as contributing to the Sub-Regional Housing Strategy and the Norfolk Supporting People Strategy. A summary of the documents are available on this page together with a copy of the documents to download.

Housing Strategy 2003/04

The Housing Strategy 2003/04 was sent out to consultation in February and March 2004. This has now been revised based on the feedback received from our stakeholders and to meet the Governments Fit for Purpose guidance. The Housing Strategy is available for downloading and has now been assessed by the Governement Office for the East of England as Fit for Purpose.

If you have any comments please email Karen Hill, Strategic Housing Manager karen.hill@north-norfolk.gov.uk as the Strategy is regularly reviewed. The next update of the Action Plan and Statistical Analysis is due in June 2005.

Executive Summary

The Council's Housing priority is to reduce homelessness and ensure decent affordable housing for local residents, whilst developing the district economy to provide better job, career and training opportunities across the area both in rural and urban locations. The Housing Strategy provides a framework for how the Council will strive to achieve this aim.

The Council aims to achieve 375 additional affordable homes by 2009. This target has been established using information on the resources that are likely to be available to North Norfolk and by ensuring that all opportunities to provide affordable housing through the planning system are taken advantage of.

The Housing Strategy is not a standalone document and it reflects and informs, the Sustainable Communities Plan, Regional Housing Strategy, the work of our sub-region the Rural East Anglia Partnership, the Community Strategy, Crime Reduction Strategy, Capital Strategy, the HRA Business Plan, Homelessness Review and Strategy and the Options Appraisal.

Community involvement plays a fundamental part in the production and implementation of the Housing Strategy and Housing Policies. Increasing choice and access to housing is also important. A choice based lettings system is currently being consulted on and we are also working with the private rented sector to widen access to this sector for homelessness households.

The housing market in North Norfolk has been adversely affected by a 131% increase in average house prices since 1999. Our 1999 Housing Needs Survey, updated 2003, identified a net affordable housing need of 505 and our waiting list has grown by 220% since 1998. To address these issues the Council is prioritising the identification and bringing back into use empty dwellings and supporting Housing Associations to provide additional affordable housing.

Ensuring that everyone in North Norfolk lives in a decent home is important. The Private Sector Grants Policy introduced in 2003 will target grants and loans at households who need assistance in order to repair, improve or adapt their home so that it is decent and meets their needs. A stock condition survey has shown that the Council does not have enough funding to bring all its dwellings up to the Decent Homes Standard, and the Council has therefore determined, subject to a successful tenant ballot, to proceed with stock transfer.

Ensuring that all residents of North Norfolk are included within their communities and do not face discrimination or inequality is important. The Council ensures that its information and services are accessible to all and that the most vulnerable members of society are supported.

Norfolk Supporting People Strategy 2005-2010

Supporting People is a national programme to plan, pay for and monitor standards of housing related support services. The programme is managed locally by the Norfolk Supporting People team. Supporting People funded services are targeted at vulnerable adults with the key objective being to enable people to live as independently as possible. There is a wide range of services funded by Supporting People. These include:

• Sheltered housing, community alarms and home improvements advice for older people
• Refuges for women experiencing domestic violence
• Visiting support for people at risk of homelessness
• Supporting those that require assistance to maintain independence in the accommodation of their choice

The strategy sets out our vision and key priorities for housing related support for vulnerable people and people with a disability in Norfolk, assisting them to live independently, and improving the range and quality of services for them, over the next 5 years.

The Strategy is a revision of previous drafts and has been changed in response to the consultation undertaken to date, further research work, and changes in the policies of partner agencies

The consultation period for this draft of the Strategy ended on the 30th of November 2004. The Strategy was further revised in the light of feedback received. It will be submitted to the Norfolk County Council Cabinet and each District Council for agreement. The Strategy will be reviewed annually in the light of the respective Government announcement about the financial settlement for Supporting People. A new Annual Plan will be developed each year in the light of the Strategy review.

Copies of the documents for downloading are available at

http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc019599.pdf

You can contact Supporting People:

(Email): supportingpeople@norfolk.gov.uk