Issue - meetings
Draft Cotswold Housing Strategy
Meeting: 07/12/2023 - Cabinet (Item 204)
204 Draft Cotswold Housing Strategy 
PDF 91 KB
Purpose
To seek approval to consult with partners and the public on a new five year Cotswold Housing Strategy. The strategy directly responds to the Council’s Corporate Plan that seeks to address housing affordability and increase the supply of affordable housing.
Recommendations
That Cabinet resolves to:
1. Approve the draft Cotswold Housing Strategy for public consultation as presented at Annex A and B; and
2. Delegate authority to the Forward Planning Manager, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to agree a questionnaire for the public consultation exercise and to make minor modifications to improve clarity.
Additional documents:
- Annex A - draft Cotswold Housing Strategy - Technical consultation document, item 204
PDF 3 MB
- Annex B - draft Cotswold Housing Strategy - Non-technical consultation document, item 204
PDF 2 MB
- Webcast for Draft Cotswold Housing Strategy
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to seek approval to consult with partners and the public on a new five-year Cotswold Housing Strategy. The strategy directly responded to the Council’s Corporate Plan that sought to address housing affordability and increase the supply of affordable housing.
The Leader introduced this item and outlined the following points:
- It was outlined that a safe and secure home was important to the wellbeing of residents, and the lack of affordable housing was a particular problem in the District.
- The Leader noted the cost of buying and renting a home had increased substantially in the last few years. It was outlined the average house price was £500,000, and the average rent was £1,100.
- It was outlined that the delivery of affordable homes was a priority for the Council and that partnership with all sectors was important, but particularly focussing on developing social rented homes.
- It was outlined that the strategy focussed around developing sustainable, high quality homes that met the needs of residents and delivering statutory priorities.
- It was noted that the document would go out for consultation to ensure it is comprehensive.
The document was welcomed by Cabinet as step forward in delivering affordable homes for the District.
It was highlighted that there were many Neighbourhood Development Plans in development, and this would help residents identify need as part of the strategy.
It was outlined that the strategy would help develop vibrant and sustainable communities for the Cotswold District.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet
1. APPROVED the draft Cotswold Housing Strategy for public
consultation as presented at Annex A and B; and
2. AGREED to delegate authority to the Forward Planning Manager, in
consultation with the Leader of the Council, to agree a questionnaire for the public consultation exercise and to make minor modifications to improve clarity.
Record of Voting – For: 8, Against 0, Abstention 0, Absent: 0
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For |
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Abstain |
Absent/Did not vote |
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Claire Bloomer |
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Joe Harris |
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Juliet Layton |
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Lisa Spivey |
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Mike Evemy |
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Mike McKeown |
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Paul Hodgkinson |
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Tony Dale |
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Meeting: 28/11/2023 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 8)
8 Draft Cotswold Housing Strategy PDF 91 KB
Purpose
To seek approval to consult with partners and the public on a new five year Cotswold Housing Strategy. The strategy directly responds to the Council’s Corporate Plan that seeks to address housing affordability and increase the supply of affordable housing.
Recommendation(s)
That Cabinet resolves to:
- Approve the draft Cotswold Housing Strategy for public consultation as presented at Annex A and B; and
- Delegate authority to the Forward Planning Manager, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to agree a questionnaire for the public consultation exercise and to make minor modifications to improve clarity.
Invited
Cllr Joe Harris, Leader of the Council
James Brain, Forward Planning Manager
Additional documents:
- Annex A - draft Cotswold Housing Strategy - Technical consultation document, item 8
PDF 4 MB
- Annex B - draft Cotswold Housing Strategy - Non-technical consultation document, item 8
PDF 2 MB
- Webcast for Draft Cotswold Housing Strategy
Minutes:
The Forward Planning Manager introduced the item.
The purpose of the item was to seek approval to consult with partners and the public on a new five year Cotswold Housing Strategy. The strategy directly responded to the Council’s Corporate Plan that seeks to address housing affordability and increase the supply of affordable housing.
As this was an item for pre-decision scrutiny, members were being asked to comment on it, making any relevant recommendations to Cabinet. Members discussed the report, including various points on the report itself, and the broader work surrounding it.
Members raised the following points on the report itself, which the Forward Planning Manager stated they would take away to amend or action necessary:
- Members commended the quality of the report and the utility and relevance of the work.
- On page 42 and 43, the housing need number was higher than in the Council’s Housing Supply report. The Forward Planning Manager stated that the housing targets were being met. The figures on this page would be reviewed by the Forward Planning Manager after the meeting, as the table may be out of date.
- The Forward Planning Manager stated that the map on page 50 would be amended to include a key. It was also suggested that Waterloo Road be amended to ‘The Waterloo’.
- In objective 3.2, members asked whether reference to retrofit could be included.
- It was also stated by the Forward Planning Manager that the consultation questions would be shared with the Committee once they were ready.
- It was confirmed by the Forward Planning Manager that the technical document would be available as part of the consultation.
- The Committee commented on the elements surrounding the strategy, including the neighbourhood and environmental elements to the housing. The Forward Planning Manager stated that the local plan included this information and they would not want to duplicate it, but would reflect on this as part of the strategy.
Members discussed the strategy, raising the following points;
- Members asked the Forward Planning Manager about the costs surrounding the proposal. The Forward Planning Manager stated that a digital consultation would be carried out using a platform that had been secured through grant funding. There was a marketing budget associated with it in order to engage residents, particularly younger people. Although uncertain of the specific figure, the Forward Planning Manager stated that it would be relatively modest.
- Members asked whether a Tourism Tax could be added as a part of this, or similar work. The Leader stated that they would welcome this, but were constrained by central government legislation, but they would continue to lobby on this. The Forward Planning Manager stated that paragraph three of the report also addressed this point.
- Members stated that the consultation on the strategy should be undertaken in such a way as to inform the public on issues outside of the Council’s scope (including the above example) and potentially include a video explanation. The Forward Planning Manager stated that this was a good suggestion, and they would ... view the full minutes text for item 8