City of Lincoln Council’s Executive will consider a new Housing Strategy for the city, which will aim to meet housing demand and improve standards across all tenures in the city over the next 5 years.
At the meeting on 22 February, the council’s Executive will discuss the council’s new Housing Strategy, ahead of the document being taken to Full Council for its adoption within the authority.
A local authority housing strategy is an overarching cross-tenure document which identifies local housing needs and sets out how these needs will be met.
A housing strategy is not only about setting out the need for additional affordable housing, but it covers everything housing-wise including: growth; regeneration; and neighbourhood renewal, so as to ensure that a local authority has a balanced and sustainable housing market that meets the needs of its residents.
The housing strategy seeks to deliver quality housing through three objectives:
- Providing housing which meets the varied needs of our residents
- Building sustainable communities
- Improving housing standards for all
The strategy emphasises how the council seeks to prevent homelessness, and when people are homeless ensure that they are provided with suitable accommodation. Through partnership working the council seeks to ensure that it has sufficient suitable accommodation to meet needs, maximise the delivery of affordable housing, including the remodelling and redevelopment of low demand local authority housing stock.
The strategy also sets out the council’s goal to continue making progress on delivering the Western Growth Corridor to provide mixed tenure housing to meet need and demand as well as to facilitate city centre living in Lincoln, ensuring that the city centre remains a vibrant and attractive place to live.
The strategy highlights how the city council will also continue to work with residents and strategic partners to deliver the Sincil Bank Revitalisation Programme, including the potential regeneration of Hermit Street, the continuation of work with tenants to deliver estate improvements and an improved street scene, and bring more empty homes back into use, to provide housing and improve the built environment.
The strategy also aims to promote independent living by enabling vulnerable residents to live independently through the provision of aids, adaptations and other assistance and to support residents to improve the energy efficiency of their homes in order to reduce the number of households living in fuel poverty and reduce Lincoln’s carbon footprint.
Plans also include ensuring local authority housing stock is maintained to a high standard, meets modern aspirations and is sustainable in the longer term.
Cllr Donald Nannestad, Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing at City of Lincoln Council said: “A quality affordable home in which people can feel safe and thrive is a fundamental element in creating a sustainable community and enhancing society as whole.
“Our Housing Strategy sets out how we will work together with our partners across the public, private and voluntary sectors to meet housing demand and improve standards across all tenures in the city.
“Whilst the strategy is for the period ending 2025 2020-25, at present we do not yet fully understand the long-term effects of the current pandemic. Therefore, we can now only begin to recognise the emerging implications on the city’s housing market and the wider economy.
“We remain hugely ambitious and positive about the future and growth of housing in Lincoln and look forward to delivering this strategy.”