AFFORDABLE HOUSING STRATEGY

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1 AFFORDABLE HOUSING STRATEGY Medway s Affordable Housing Strategy aims to improve the quality and quantity of affordable homes within Medway and deliver the vision of decent and safe homes for all residents living in Medway. To do this it concentrates on: Ensuring that the provision of affordable housing contributes to the regeneration of Medway. Developments should be attractive, safe and designed and built to a high quality. Developing a range of affordable housing options to meet the needs of the community so that people have a choice of housing in a place where they want to live. Developing a sub-regional approach to ensure that future housing developments within Medway create long lasting sustainable communities. Introduction This strategy sets out Medway Council s proposals for increasing the supply and quality of affordable housing and how it intends to deliver the vision of a decent and safe home for all residents living in Medway. This strategy aims to reflect policies and priorities at national, regional and local level, contributing to the Community Strategy, Council Corporate Plan and the main Housing Strategy. Outlined within this strategy are the priorities for action, the policy tools and the level of resources available to the Council to ensure the objectives of this strategy are delivered. Given the pace of change within Government, local government and the development of more integrated approaches to regional and sub-regional housing development and investment, we have developed this strategy as a tool to drive forward actions that will improve the quality and supply of local housing within Medway and influence future regional and sub-regional strategies. To ensure this end we have set a three year life span on the current strategy in terms of the actions planned. Throughout the document, however, there are indications of actions and plans that will require input beyond the three year life of this strategy. This strategy will not stand in isolation. It is one of a suite of strategies that have been developed to cover a range of priorities within Medway, as part of the current housing strategy but primarily as part of the development of the new overarching housing strategy for Medway. A period of consultation with a wide range of service users, service providers and neighbouring local authorities has provided information on improvements for existing services and the future development of services. Further information on the range of consultation carried out can be found later in this strategy. The strategy is framed by:

2 National and regional policy Local priorities National and Regional Policy Framework Increasing the supply of homes is a key priority for the Government. The Treasury s 2004 review of housing supply set out the threat to the UK s future social and economic success from a weak and unresponsive housing supply. National priorities are expressed in terms of Public Service Agreement targets and the Government priority for housing is defined in the new Public Service Agreement, PSA20: Increase long-term housing supply and affordability. This PSA aims to increase housing supply across England, to address growing problems of affordability. The Government is committed to ensuring that new homes are in sustainable communities and the key objective of Planning Policy Statement 3 is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity of living in a decent home which they can afford in a community where they want to live. It also states that the planning system should be used in a positive way to deliver an identified level of growth taking into account need and demand. The Housing Green Paper 2007 outlines the Government s plans for delivering three million new homes by This is to be achieved by; More ambitious building targets, increased investment, and new ways of identifying and using land for development. More affordable housing ensuring that a decent home at an affordable price is for the many, not the few. Building homes more quickly by unblocking the planning system and releasing land for development. More affordable homes - by increasing the options for low cost home ownership and more long term and affordable mortgage products and greener homes with high environmental standards and flagship developments leading the way. Around eight million people live in the South East in just over three million households, making the South East the UK s most populated region with 15% of the UK s total population¹. Despite the South East s strong economy, earnings have not kept pace with house price growth, giving rise to problems of affordability for increasing numbers of people. A large number of people do not have the financial capacity to afford even a part-share in their home. Where prices are very high, incomes are often too low even for access to low cost housing options. Shared ownership is often perceived as the most achievable way to realise an aspiration to enter the property market, yet first time buyers earning the region s average wage find the monthly cost of part-share and rent beyond their means in most parts of ¹ The South East Regional Strategy

3 the South East. The impact of reduced numbers of new homeowners entering the market is not yet known, but in the short term it is likely to increase pressure on social and private rental markets and may even alter home ownership patterns. The South East Plan identifies a need for an annual average of 28,900 net additional dwellings to In order to fulfil this policy requirement the region needs to deliver 10,115 affordable homes per annum². There are a range of other strategic documents, guidance and legislation that has also been considered in deciding the strategic direction that this document will set including; The Homelessness Act 2002 Medway s Housing Strategy The South East Regional Housing Strategy The Housing Act 2004 Sustainable Communities Plan National Affordable Housing Programme Planning Policy Statement 3 Securing the Delivery of Affordable Housing Local Priorities The Council s Priorities for set out the guiding principles and six priority areas that will be focussed on. The Council s guiding principles, or core values will underpin the way the Council serves the people of Medway, It is also expected that the Affordable Housing Strategy will contribute to these priorities. The guiding principles are; Putting customers at the heart of everything we do Giving value for money The Affordable Housing Strategy will also contribute to some of the council s six priorities; A clean and green environment Safer communities Children and young people having the best start in life Older and vulnerable people maintaining their independence Everyone benefiting from the regeneration To set Medway s direction of travel in tackling the issues about affordable housing this strategy has three core aims to focus the delivery. These have been developed in consultation with our stakeholders and informed by research and information collected in the development of the strategy. ² The Regional Housing Strategy Review, February 2007.

4 The delivery of the strategy will be focused by these three core aims; Ensure that the provision of affordable housing contributes to the regeneration of Medway Develop a range of affordable housing options to meet the needs of the whole community Develop a sub regional approach to ensure that future housing developments create long lasting sustainable communities Understanding the Local Housing Market The best information that we have on the local housing market is contained in the 2006 Housing Needs Survey and the 2005 Housing Market Assessment. Current Housing in the District The property type profile in Medway is skewed towards semi-detached and terraced houses with a fairly low stock of flats mostly in the social rented sector. Based on a calculation of occupants to bedroom numbers, underoccupation affects approximately 35% of all households and over-occupation affects 3.5% of all existing households. Of the households surveyed for the Housing Needs Survey, 89.3% said that their home was adequate for their needs. Levels of adequacy were found to be lower in the social and private rented stock. There are currently 15,447 affordable homes in Medway. This equates to 14% of the total housing stock in Medway while the average for our comparator authorities is more than 20%. Medway Council owns 3,059 of these properties and 7,477 are owned by the Unregistered Social Landlord, mhs Homes. The Council owned properties are concentrated in Gillingham and Rainham and following consultation with the Stakeholder Forum in 2005 it was decided to retain the stock. The mhs owned properties are concentrated in Rochester and Strood. Demand for Market Housing The Housing Needs Survey found that 6,978 existing households requiring market housing will be moving within Medway in the next 3 years. Demand is focused on semi-detached and terraced houses. Demand is high as access to owner occupation is restricted by rising prices, with local house prices outstripping local income inflation. Average house prices in Medway have risen by 47.76% between the first quarter of 2000/01 and the first quarter of 2007/8. This is compared to an increase of 48.71% for the whole of Kent and is shown by Graph 1.

5 Comparison of average property prices in Medway and Kent 250, , , ,000 50,000 Medway Kent / / / / / / / /08 Graph 1: Average property prices in Medway compared to Kent using data obtained from the Land Registry. Income is a core factor in the assessment of the scale of housing need and in determining the affordability in the local housing market and 27.4% of households has incomes below 10,000. An income of 25,900 is required to buy a one-bedroom flat in Chatham, 27,300 in Rochester and 26,800 in Gillingham. The survey findings indicate that 57.3% of the new households who formed in the past two years have income levels below the level necessary to be able to buy and 50.7% are unable to rent privately in the local market. Terraced properties are assessed to be the main entry level for first time buyers in view of their relatively low cost and high volume of sales. The ability of concealed households to access the market is very limited. Only 29.8% of concealed households have incomes above 27,500 (the national average). The cheapest 2-bed property in the district requires an income threshold of 28,000 and 70.2% of concealed households earn below 27,500. The private rented sector is small and generally has low quality standards. Access is restricted by price and 30.1% of all new forming households could afford a weekly rent of no more than 60 ( 260 pcm), 56.3% no more than 80 ( 350 pcm). Access rents for the small supply of one-bed flats are 362 per calendar month and 480 for terraced houses. Where households are unable to meet their own needs through the housing market, they are able to seek assistance from affordable housing. What is Affordable Housing? Affordable Housing is the term generally used to describe housing provided with a subsidy so that the asking price or rent can be substantially lower than the prevailing local markets prices or rents and where mechanisms exist to ensure it stays affordable for those who cannot afford market housing. Planning Policy Statement 3 defines affordable housing as:- Affordable housing includes social rented and intermediate housing provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. Affordable Housing should:

6 Meet the needs of eligible households including availability at a cost low enough for them to afford, determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices. Include provision for the home to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households or, if these restrictions are lifted, for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision. For a full definition of Affordable Housing please refer to Appendix 5. The Need for Affordable Housing There is an overall annual affordable housing shortfall of 1281 units in Medway, which is calculated as per the table below. Annual Need for Households in unsuitable housing and unable to afford to buy or rent suitable accommodation Newly Arising Need and unable to afford to buy or rent suitable accommodation Total Annual Affordable Housing Need 2348 Deduct - Affordable Housing Supply from New and Existing Accommodation 1067 Overall Annual Affordable Housing Shortfall 1281 What needs to be considered however is how best to respond to this level of demand. The answer is not simply to build our way out of the situation, as that would mean that every house and flat planned for the next 5 years or so would need to be affordable. Such an approach is simplistic and obviously unrealistic. Our response therefore is co-ordinated and wide-ranging. The housing need figure highlights the number of households who are not effectively housed and who would be eligible for affordable housing. The reasons for this inadequacy are varied and include issues such as substandard and inappropriate accommodation, over crowding, fuel poverty and affordability. Our response therefore should address all of these areas. It will of course include the development of new affordable housing schemes but it will equally be about improving our existing housing stock, bringing empty properties back into use and helping households remain in their own homes rather than presenting as homeless. In 2007/8, 259 affordable units were completed. In early 2008 the Unregistered Social Landlord, mhs, became a development partner of the Housing Corporation. It is anticipated that their development programme will expand following the accreditation. The demand for affordable housing amongst existing moving households is mainly focused around Chatham with a high demand also within Rochester and Gillingham. Graph 2 shows the demand for housing by area for those households planning to move within Medway in the next three years.

7 Existing Households (Planning to move within Medway in the next 3 yrs) Total Affordable Chatham Cuxton Gillingham Hempstead Rainham North Rochester Rural Strood Walderslade Graph 2: Demand for housing by area using data from the Housing Needs Survey 2006 Despite the evidence of the scale of need from existing and concealed households, there are wider issues to consider when setting targets for the delivery of affordable housing from new developments. Primarily there is a need to build viable, sustainable developments. Sheltered Housing Sheltered housing is housing which is purpose built or converted with a package of estate management services and which consists of grouped, selfcontained accommodation with an emergency alarm system, usually with communal facilities and normally with a resident warden. The Housing Needs Survey found that there is a combined requirement for sheltered accommodation from older people currently living in Medway and those who may in-migrate to be beside their family of 1,929 units over the next 3 years, 1,202 of which are in the affordable sector and 727 in the private sector. Some of this requirement will be addressed by flow of the existing sheltered stock, but acceptability of existing stock to meet today s standards will need to be assessed in calculating the scale of new delivery. Extra Care Housing Extra care housing provides extra support whilst enabling the older person to live as independently as possible and retain their own tenancy. This is for older people who are physically or mentally frail and need extra help to manage, and who might otherwise need residential or nursing care. The significant levels of growth in the older population in future will have a direct impact on the nature of specialist accommodation requirements for older people. The Housing Needs Survey identified a need for 327 such units over the next 3 years. Further detail on the delivery of sheltered and extra care housing is set out in our Older Persons Housing Strategy Supported Housing This is housing specially designed, managed or adapted to meet the needs of people for whom standard housing is unsuitable or inappropriate. One example of a scheme is the Mill Road development in Gillingham. This

8 scheme is being delivered by Swale Housing (part of the AmicusHorizon Group) and comprises of twenty-eight one and two bed apartments. Six of the rented units will be for supported housing. The care provider is likely to be Advance Housing And Support, which is hoping to fill these units with applicants with learning difficulties, possibly with Asperger s Syndrome. Further detail on the delivery of these additional homes is set out in our Housing Strategy for people with Disabilities Delivery of the Strategy The aim of this strategy is to increase the number of affordable homes in Medway and ensure that new developments are sustainable. It focuses on partnership working in order to develop a range of affordable housing options to meet the needs of the whole community. To deliver the aim of this strategy we will work with affordable housing providers, developers and other public and private sector agencies. The delivery of the strategy will be focused by these three core aims; 1 Ensure that the provision of affordable housing contributes to the regeneration of Medway 2 Develop a range of affordable housing options to meet the needs of the whole community 3 Develop a sub regional approach to ensure that future housing developments create long lasting sustainable communities Objective 1 Ensure that the provision of affordable housing contributes to the regeneration of Medway Contribution to Medway Council Priorities; A Clean and green environment by ensuring that new affordable housing complies with design and energy efficiency standards. Everyone benefiting from the regeneration by increasing supported and affordable housing provision in Medway though development and regeneration. By increasing the supply of affordable housing we can ease affordability pressures and help with the sustainability of Medway s community. To ensure that the provision of affordable housing contributes to the regeneration of Medway we aim to; 1. Maximise the provision of affordable housing through the planning system and by working with partners organisations

9 2. Seek a balanced approach with regards to tenure and unit type on a scheme-by-scheme basis 3. Secure affordable housing schemes on smaller sites 4. Raise the standards of new developments by ensuring that they are energy efficient and designed and built to a high standard 5. Maximise the capital and revenue funding and resources for affordable housing delivery in Medway. Maximise the provision of affordable housing through the planning system & working with partner agencies We will continue to maximise the supply of affordable housing through the planning system by: - We will continue to maximise the supply of affordable housing through the planning system by reviewing the level of affordable housing secured through the planning system. We are currently securing at least 25% affordable housing on suitable sites, but the Council will review this target as part of the Local Development Framework, having consideration to Regional Planning Guidance and targets. On sites with an affordable housing requirement we will promote and use our negotiation procedures when pre-planning application discussions take place. The guidance sits alongside the Developer Contributions Framework and should ensure that developers make arrangements for securing affordable housing before a planning application is submitted. We will continue to work with the North Kent Housing Partnership to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of how we deliver affordable housing. To do this we share good practice, have establish standardised Section 106 agreements and jointly commission research. The Partnership has also selected six preferred affordable housing partners in association with the Housing Corporation. The partners are: Amicus-Horizon AffinitySutton Housing Hyde Housing Association London and Quadrant Moat Housing Group Town & Country Housing Group In addition we also have four partners who have a local presence. These are West Kent Housing Association, Orbit Housing Association, Sanctuary Housing Association and mhs. We encourage landowners and developers to form partnerships with these affordable housing providers as they have considerable development experience in the area and are fully aware of the Council s objectives. We are also happy to work with other Affordable Housing Providers and non-registered Social Landlords to secure affordable housing through the planning system. This is primarily achieved where a non registered organisation is developing the Affordable Housing for a scheme under the Housing Corporations Management Accreditation Scheme and where this

10 development is being funded in accordance with Section 27A of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Housing Act 2004) and will be retained by non- RSL or transferred to a RSL on completion. Seek a balanced approach with regards to tenure and unit type on a scheme-by-scheme basis We will seek a balanced approach to ensure that developments are sustainable and contribute to the regeneration of Medway. The main way we will do this is through the use of the Developer Contributions Framework. The purpose of the guide is to set out the Council s policy relating to developer contributions. It stipulates that on a scheme of more than 10 units the tenure mix will be 60% social rent and 40% shared ownership. In terms of unit type across the whole area we seek to achieve the following mix; 40% one bed, 30% two bed, 20% three bed, 5% four bed and 5% five bed. Individual mixes will be assessed on a scheme-by-scheme basis and based on local needs. Secure affordable housing schemes on smaller sites We will take a proactive approach when landowners bring smaller sites to us for the development of affordable housing. We work closely with affordable housing providers and the Development Control Team to secure affordable housing on these sites. It is anticipated that a new lower site threshold of 15 units or 0.5 hectares will be the standard level in the new Developer Contributions Framework and we will look to adopt this as soon as new Guidance is issued. We have developed an Empty Homes Strategy with the aim to work in partnership with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies and with landlords and owners to bring empty properties back into use. At 31 March 2008, the total number of empty properties according to Council Tax records was 2953, of those 1,444 had been empty for over 6 months. We intend to make full use of privately owned empty properties to provide an extra source of accommodation for homeless households, single people, key workers and low-priority applicants waiting for social housing. Where partnership working is not possible enforcement powers will be used where necessary to tackle empty homes. Further detail on bringing properties back into use is set out in our Empty Homes Strategy Raising the standards of housing in Medway We will continue to be committed to good quality design in housing and in particular will require that; Schemes must be built to meet or exceed the Housing Corporation's Design and Quality Standards (April 2007). Details are available and can be downloaded from the Corporation s website and the Housing Corporations regional offices can provide further clarification. The performance measures, which indicate compliance, are: 1. For each home, Housing Quality Indicator unit minima scores for Size of 41, Layout of 32, Noise, services, light of 22. In meeting the HQI unit layout minimum score, it is expected that internal and external storage

11 provision at least meets the requirements for storage specified in the HQI guidance for the occupancy and does not fall short in any aspect. 2. The achievement of the Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 (three star) as a minimum. Please note that full points need to be achieved in the security section. 3. An assessment against the 20 Building for Life criteria which demonstrates a minimum achievement of: 10 out of 20 positive responses (rural and street-fronted infill) 12 out of 20 positive responses (all other developments) The housing development should meet the general current Secure by Design standard, details of which are available from and where suitable the additional provisions for specialist provision. Internal space standards should, as a minimum, comply with current Housing Corporation Design and Quality Standards. The Council, however, seeks to achieve higher standards wherever possible. The following table gives indicative minimum space standards for selected dwelling types: Type Size m 2 1 bed 2 person bed 3 person bed 4 person bed 5 person bed 6 person The Council s Fuel Poverty and Home Energy Conservation Strategy sets out our proposals for addressing home energy conservation and aims to promote and engage with our partners to tackle the effects of cold homes and maximise the help available to reduce the amount of people living in fuel poverty. Maximising the capital and revenue funding and resources for affordable housing delivery in Medway In order to maximise funding it is recognised that continued partnership working is essential between the Council, its preferred affordable housing providers, developers and the Housing Corporation. The National Affordable Housing Programme, administered by the Housing Corporation, provides public funding to build and renovate homes. In the programme, 286 units were delivered with the aid of 10.7 million of grant. This increased to 521 units in and 58.4 million of grant. The programme is at the heart of the delivery of the targets set out in Homes for the Future with investment of 8 billion over the three years. Over the next ten years 160,000 new homes are being built in the Thames Gateway and the Housing Corporation expects to invest in around 40% of these to provide affordable homes. Currently over 16.9m has been allocated for schemes within Medway that will deliver 535 new affordable homes. We will continue to work in partnership with affordable housing providers and Developers to secure funding from the Housing Corporation. This will involve ensuring, at an early stage, that new developments will achieve the required

12 mix of tenure and type of housing to meet the local need and create sustainable communities. We have developed monitoring and predictive forecasting techniques, which allow both, the amount of funding and number of units to be tracked against targets. These figures are collected monthly and made available quarterly via the Housing Strategy and Development Service s Quarterly Monitoring Report. The Council recognises that land in its ownership is a valuable resource towards achieving the aims of increasing the supply of affordable housing in Medway. It is the intention of the Council to undertake a thorough review of these assets to determine which are most appropriate to provide an element of affordable housing. We will continue to work closely with colleagues in the Medway Renaissance Team to assist in the drafting of documents relating to key regeneration sites. This was undertaken to good effect in selecting a preferred development consortium for the first phase of Rochester Riverside. As the demographic profile of Medway alters it is necessary for us to consult with partnering agencies to identify changing housing needs. The Older People s Housing Strategy sets out Medway Council s proposals for improving the quality and quantity of provision of housing and housing related services for older people. Equalities Implications Easing the affordability pressures and raising the standards of new developments provides an alternative to living in substandard and temporary accommodation. This will help to ensure that there is a choice of accommodation for those in most need, which often includes vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society. Objective 2 Develop a range of affordable housing options to meet the needs of the community Contribution to Medway Council Priorities; A Clean and green environment by ensuring that good quality housing is developed in places where people want to live. Safer communities by ensuring that affordable housing provides a safe and suitable home for residents of Medway. Medway Council is no longer a direct provider of new affordable housing; it Older and vulnerable people maintaining their independence by has a strategic and enabling role. We work closely with internal and external providing more suitable and sustainable accommodation for older people to agencies to develop a range of affordable housing options to meet the needs live in. of the whole community by; 1. Identifying the housing needs of the community and keeping the information up-to-date

13 2. Using the Developer Contributions Guide and S106 agreements 3. Utilising the experience and skills of affordable housing providers 4. Working to improve people s access to home ownership. 5. Ensuring adequate nominations agreements are in place for all new affordable housing schemes. Identifying Housing Needs We recognise the need for up to date and robust evidence. Only by developing a strong evidence base can appropriate strategic decisions be made and any gaps be addressed. A Housing Market Assessment was undertaken in June 2005 and a Housing Needs Survey was undertaken in 2006, however it is our aim to update this information by undertaking regular Housing Market Assessments. We are currently exploring the possibility of working with the other local authorities in the North Kent Housing Partnership to undertake a sub-regional assessment. A monitoring report is produced on a quarterly basis and circulated to our stakeholders. This report provides up-to-date information on the housing market and enables us to have a thorough understanding of how the situation in Medway in changing. The report focuses on property prices in the district, the number of Medway Council owned properties sold under Right to Buy, the number of HomeBuy applications, the number of affordable units completed, rent levels within the social sector and the number of empty properties brought back into use. We have developed a database, which provides detailed information on all affordable housing sites within Medway from the planning stage through to completion. The database has a reporting function allowing us to forecast the number of units due to be completed over a specific time period broken down by type, tenure and size. This information can also be electronically mapped to provide us with an illustrative reference guide to affordable housing schemes within the district. Once a development is completed the affordable housing provider managing the scheme will undertake a Satisfaction Survey of the new residents. We collate the results of the survey and input them into the Affordable Housing Database. We are then able to compare the level of satisfaction between schemes and to determine whether housing needs have been met and how services can be improved. When negotiating Section 106 agreements, we will ensure that adequate nominations agreements are put in place. This will ensure that only people identified by the Council to be in housing need will be eligible for affordable housing. Developer Contributions Guide Medway Council have produced a Developer Contributions Guide, which sets out Medway Council s policy relating to development contributions. It is intended to assist developers, others involved with the planning process and the Council s own staff. The guide aids the development of a range of affordable housing options by:

14 Stipulating that affordable housing units must be built to meet or exceed the Housing Corporation s Design and Quality Standards (April 2007). These standards define the minima that are expected and it is hoped that these standards will ensure that affordable housing providers produce good quality housing in places where people want to live. Ensuring that at least 50% of all affordable homes are constructed to Lifetime Homes Standard. Lifetime Homes standards go further than Building Regulations in their requirements for adaptability and flexibility to be designed into the home. Lifetime Homes make life as easy as possible, for as long as possible because they are thoughtfully designed. They are homes for everyone and bring benefits to anyone who lives in them because of the individual choices that they make possible. The flexibility and adaptability of Lifetime Homes accommodate life events quickly, cost-effectively and without upheaval. Ensuring that a minimum of 2% of dwellings across the site are built to wheelchair-user housing standards. These are self-contained units designed for independent living of physically disabled and wheelchair users. Ensuring that 10% of homes are dedicated towards developing supported housing schemes. To complement the Developer Contributions Guide we will review and develop our Developer Information Packs, which will give a profile of housing demand and supply for each of the 22 wards in Medway. These packs provide a quick reference quick to the local level of need. Utilise the skills and experience of partner affordable housing providers We have successful working relationships with many affordable housing providers and utilise their skills and experience in the development of schemes. We have a site registration scheme, which is used to register the interest of an affordable housing provider in a particular scheme on our affordable housing database from a planning stage. This ensures that we work closely together from an early stage to ensure that the local housing needs are met by the scheme. The appointment of a partner affordable housing provider to manage the affordable housing on any given site should, in the majority of cases, be an effective way of controlling occupancy and affordability levels without the need for additional controls in Section 106 agreements. Access to affordable housing Home ownership is the aspiration of many residents in Medway and as part of our affordable housing strategy we are keen to widen home ownership as a means of tackling social polarisation. We want to develop opportunities that enable those who are currently unable to buy on the open market to move into home ownership. Initiatives we are pursuing to achieve this include; New Build Homebuy provides access to home ownership for people who cannot afford to buy a property on the open market. They purchase an equity

15 share in a new property, which at a later date they can increase until they own the property outright. In 2007/8 there were 42 New Build Homebuy completions. Open Market Homebuy helps people get a foothold on the property ladder who cannot afford to buy on the open market without assistance. Through our Zone Agent, Moat, we are actively promoting this Government backed scheme. We developed an advertising campaign that featured on the back of buses operating within Medway and have held a HomeBuy information event. In 2007/8 there were a total of 757 HomeBuy applications made. Equalities Implications Improving the range of housing options and access to affordable housing will help all in Medway to live in appropriate accommodation in the community they choose. Objective 3 Develop a sub regional approach to ensure that future housing developments create long lasting sustainable communities Contribution to Medway Council Priorities; Everyone benefiting from the regeneration helping to shape and set the housing agenda through the Kent Housing Group. A Clean and green environment by creating long lasting sustainable communities through the Kent and Medway Sustainable Communities Protocol. Medway are keen to be fully engaged in sub-regional working to ensure that resources are pooled, greater capacity is provided and strategic housing work is undertaken at a sub-regional level. This is achieved by being part of the following groups; 1. Kent Housing Group 2. Strategy and Enabling Group 3. North Kent Housing Partnership We are part of the Kent Housing Group, which is a forum made up of senior housing staff from housing associations and local authorities across Kent and Medway. The Group aims to be the voice of housing in Kent by helping to shape and set the housing agenda, to build relationships and influence decisions for the benefit of people living and working in Kent and Medway. We have signed up to the Sustainable Communities Protocol, produced by the Kent and Medway Housing Group. The purpose of the protocol is to ensure that future housing developments within Kent and Medway meet the objective of creating long lasting sustainable communities by; Ensuring the delivery of a successful housing development by including an appropriate mix of tenure, income levels and household type.

16 Ensuring that developments give consideration to the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and the use of a range of technologies and processes involving various forms of supply chain specifications, prefabrication and off-site assembly. The use of MMC can make for more effective materials, speeds up housing delivery, enables high standards of design quality and can help to reduce resource consumption. It is increasingly regarded as a means of improving quality, reducing time spent on site, improving on-site safety and overcoming skills shortages in the construction of housing. Ensuring that developments meet a minimum of level three of the Code for Sustainable Homes. This sets minimum standards for energy and water use. Ensuring that schemes are built to meet or exceed the Housing Corporation's Design and Quality Standards (April 2007). The Strategy and Enabling Group is the sub group of the Kent Housing Group. The purpose of the group is to support the work of the Kent Housing Group with a definite focus on strategic housing issues. The group is currently looking to develop a regional housing market assessment and standardise the HomeBuy information provided by the Zone Agent to allow more effective comparisons and benchmarking. The North Kent Housing Partnership is made up of Gravesham Borough Council, Dartford Borough Council, Swale Borough Council and the Housing Corporation and is committed to the delivery of new housing and community investment plans in North Kent. The partnership aims to support further local and regional investment priorities and undertake research on local housing markets and community aspirations. Monitoring Achievement For each of the sub-strategies a cross-departmental monitoring group will be established and this will be the main body responsible for monitoring the strategy's progress and achievement. They will meets quarterly and their membership will include officers and key stakeholders with links or a major contribution to the delivery of the strategy. These groups will then in turn report to the Medway Strategic Housing Board, on a regular basis. The main methods of monitoring will be: Monitoring the Strategy Action Plan Monitoring key performance indicators and targets Action Plans Progress will be examined quarterly and reported to the council's Strategic Housing Board. An annual report is also to be provided for the council's Executive related partnerships and Forums, details will also be published on the Council s website.

17 Key Performance Indicators and targets The Strategies contain specific and measurable indicators that track and evaluate the strategy's progress. These will be developed and they will form part of the the Housing Services performance management framework. The Various strategy monitoring groups will review the report at their meetings and intervene if performance is seen to be slipping in any area. Changes to the strategy will be made as they become necessary as a response to any issues identified through the monitoring process and will be formally reviewed in Consultation Work The need for these strategies has been confirmed throughout the various consultation stages undertaken. It has also been underlined by the challenges and opportunities in addressing the issues identified and the Council s need to co-ordinate the actions of a diverse range of agencies in improving the standard of living and health and well-being of our communities. The effective development of this suite of strategies to this stage has only been possible as a result of extensive and comprehensive consultation and research with stakeholders, partners and the wider community. This has been based on the Housing Strategy and Development Services Community and Stakeholder Engagement Framework, a copy of which is included in Appendix II and sets out full details of the consultation undertaken. Extensive consultation and research with Medway households has included:- A postal survey sent to over 5,400 households in all 22 wards Face to face interviews with over 1,000 households in the 22 wards Over 3600 properties were visited and surveyed Home Energy Rating Assessments were undertaken on nearly 1,200 homes Housing Needs Survey Black and Minority Ethnic Housing Needs Survey Supported and Adapted Housing Survey Keyworker Housing Needs Survey Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment 4000 home energy postal surveys Empty Properties Survey Further consultation has also been undertaken with a wide range of partners, stakeholders, staff and client groups including:- Consultation Events Representatives of more than 70 services, groups and organisations attended our main consultation event in June As part of this event specific workshops were held on a range of issues. Representatives of various stakeholder groups including developing Affordable Housing Providers, Kent Energy Centre and colleagues from the Social Care Disabilities Service facilitated the workshops.

18 As part of this consultation we asked for feedback from those taking part with 98% of delegates rating the event as good or excellent. Staff Consultation As part of the Client and Stakeholder Engagement Framework it was identified that there was the need to ensure that staff were also involved in the process and so a drop in session was held in August 2007, at which staff were asked to contribute to the process. Those attending included staff from Social Care, Housing, Regeneration and Development. Workshops Work was carried out with other stakeholder and client groups including the Learning Disability Forum, Medway Older People s Partnership and Forum for Young Persons Supported Housing and these groups members were asked to convey their experience of the services they receive and how they can be improved. We also carried out a consultation exercise with MeRGe (Medway s residents group). The information and views gathered as part of this consultation have been summarised within the Framework and have also indicated within which strategy the issues raised have been addressed.