Preventing homelessness and reducing rough sleeping are among the aims in Horsham District Council’s new Housing and Homelessness Strategy.
The strategy, which was approved during a meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday (January 21), included a number of changes to the one which was published in 2021.
A report to the cabinet said: “It was published at a time when the country was just emerging from the pandemic, and although the essential aims and objectives of preventing and relieving homelessness and enabling and delivering the affordable homes the district needs remain, the landscape has changed considerably.
“Therefore, the council must set a new strategic direction, working with partners, to address challenges both nationally and locally.”
The strategy contains six objectives to address those challenges:
- Aim to reduce rough sleeping
- Aim to prevent all forms of homelessness through early intervention and partnership working
- Increase accommodation options and reduce reliance on temporary and B&B accommodation
- Maintain an accessible and fair housing register
- Empower residents to live independently in their homes
- Deliver the number and size of affordable homes that our communities need.
Sam Raby, cabinet member for housing & communities, said the strategy was ‘one of the most important things that we can deliver as a council’.
Mr Raby spoke of the council’s work with the Saxon Weald housing association to deliver improvements to housing provision across the district.
He said: “It’s great that we’ve got a good housing provider who are looking at how they can integrate to get housing for our residents.
“And with our housing register having so much more pressure – particularly for larger units – we really are having to work hard just to maintain the levels that we’ve got and to prevent people having to wait a phenomenolly long time for housing.”
Mr Raby added that the council needed to ‘get in earlier’ when it came to looking at planning applications for larger developments, to ensure that the proposed housing mix reflected what was needed.
It was a concern also raised by Paul Clarke (Con, Pulborough, Coldwaltham & Amberley). While praising the strategy as a ‘very positive piece of work’, he stressed the need for more three and four-bedroom homes for local families.
The importance of Community Land Trusts was also raised. The Trusts are not-for-profit, community controlled organisations that own, develop and manage land and buildings for the benefit of a local community.
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