Housing strategy for West Suffolk to come before councillors

The challenge of how West Suffolk councils can better support the delivery of homes that are affordable, decent, adaptable and meet community needs, will come before councillors next week.

Homes are vital to everything. They support communities, health, education and business growth – but ensuring that there are enough, that people can afford to live in them and that they are the right kind of homes, is a challenge not just in West Suffolk but nationally.

Next week a housing strategy will come before meetings of St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Forest Heath District Council, having been recommended for approval by Cabinet.

At the moment the West Suffolk councils allocates land for new homes and decides on the subsequent planning applications that come in – but permitted homes don’t always get built by developers as quickly as hoped.

That in turn means there is more demand for homes than houses to meet it. That then forces up the cost of homes and rents and also impacts on the rental cost and delivery of “affordable homes” which are based on 80% of market rents.

Under the strategy West Suffolk councils will look at ways it can help to bring housing sites forward and encourage new types of housing including modular homes.

It would work with public and private sector partners to speed up the delivery of housing while maintaining the quality of new homes, and to assist in infrastructure delivery where this is difficult or costly.

The Strategy isn’t just about new homes – it would maintain the council’s approach to influence and help owners of empty homes to bring them back into use. It would also use its roles across the board from planning to building control, to environmental health to work toward improving housing standards, suitability and how communities grow, in new and existing homes to help meet housing needs across West Suffolk.

Sara Mildmay-White, Cabinet Member for Housing at West Suffolk councils, said: “The place that people call home can have a huge impact of their lives not least in terms of their physical and mental health and wellbeing. Poor housing is estimated to cost the NHS £1.4 billion a year in terms of treating the resultant conditions and patients unable to return to unsuitable homes. Housing needs to available and adaptable to meet the requirements of our ageing population.

“The availability and affordability of housing also underpins the success and growth of our local economy. Without the availability of homes that people can afford, businesses may struggle to attract new employees, to keep the staff that they have and therefore to compete. New homes help pay towards new infrastructure – roads, schools, surgeries, and community facilities.

“The council is of course, just one partner in all of this but through this strategy, which I hope will be backed by my fellow councillors next week, the council can play a significant role in delivering new homes and making the best use of existing ones. It is a role that supports our residents, our local families and communities including our many businesses – and ensures that West Suffolk not only continues to be a place where people want to live, but also a place where they can.”