This is an overarching document that focuses and co-ordinates a number of other related priorities, including providing adequate specialist housing for those needing care and support, improving the living environment and quality of life, providing an integrated approach to housing advice and homeless prevention, providing a mix of new housing and tenues and reducing the cost pressures on adults and children’s services.

That the draft Housing Strategy, together with the drafts of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, the Housing Standards Enforcement Policy and the Houses in Multiple Occupation Standards, be published for consultation.

The Housing Strategy forms part of the Council’s Policy Framework setting out the Council’s ambitions, aims and objectives in respect of housing.  The Cabinet now wishes to gather feedback from the wider community in Torbay on the proposed content of the Housing Strategy and some of its associated documents (many of the housing related Policies/Strategies follow a separate consultation process/timeline).

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This decision will come into force immediately so as to commence formal public consultation.

As part of the work of developing the draft Community and Corporate Plan, a proposed new Housing Strategy for Torbay had been prepared which set out the Cabinet’s plans towards meeting its priority of improving the delivery, affordability and quality of housing in Torbay.

The Council’s housing responsibilities cover a broad range of issues, from identifying land for new homes to improving old ones and meeting the wide variety of housing needs of our communities.  More detailed strategies and policies sit beneath the Housing Strategy, setting out the Council’s aims and delivery plans in specific areas.  A number of these have been reviewed alongside the Housing Strategy and it is proposed that the following documents are subject to consultation at the same time:

·         Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy

·         Housing Standards Enforcement Policy

·         Houses in Multiple Occupation Standards

Councillor Long proposed and Councillor Morey seconded a motion, as set out above which was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet.

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