Issue - meetings

To receive a presentation from a representative of Exeter University.

The Group received a presentation from Matt Dodd and David Hancock at Exeter University regarding the Devon Housing Commission Report.

This contained the following information:

·         A huge data gathering exercise had been undertaken at the commencement of the project through site visits, seminars, online calls for evidence and working with local and central government agencies.

·         Some key headlines included the fact that Devon was ‘older’ than the rest of England and was getting ‘older’ faster.

·         Devon’s homes were some of the most under-occupied in the country, they were also some of the poorest quality.

·         There were fewer affordable homes in Devon than the rest of England and the number of bids per home on Devon Home Choice had doubled since 2019/20.

Some of the key recommendations in the report included the following:

For the Government

·         A renewed and increased Affordable Homes Programme.

·         Local Authority Housing Fund providing renewed and increased flexibility on temporary accommodation.

·         Support for the Renter Reform Bill.

·         Funding for Rural Housing Enablers.

·         Support for being more robust on planning.

For Local Authorities

·         Ensure Housing Enabling is at the heart of Local Authorities.

·         Act on holiday lets/second homes.

·         Ensuring the right type of homes were built – using the local plan process.

·         Temporary accommodation – acquisition and remodelling.

For Other Bodies

·         Homes England – work closely with Devon and develop rural and coastal housing strategies.

·         Housing Associations – communicate on disposals strategies.

·         Regulator of Social Housing – develop a charter on disposals.

·         Promote and encourage construction skills and retrofit/green skills.

·         Landowners and housing authorities working together.

Next steps

·         Report focused on benefits of devolution.

·         Working together between districts and between districts and county.

·         Facilitation of that relationship.

·         Strategic pipeline that Homes England want to develop.

·         Devon wide housing strategy to support the delivery of housing ambitions.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         A lot of this could be solved purely by freeing up bedrooms.

·         45% of Mid Devon’s stock was under occupied.

·         There needed to be a sufficient turnover of stock.

·         Decanting people to other parts of the country would not be practical or appropriate. Flexibility was needed and it was about providing appropriate stock within the local area.

·         There was a tension between developers providing houses at market price for people coming in from outside the area and local need.

·         Considered design of new housing developments was vital.

·         There was much work to do in terms of gathering data on downsizing.

·         Government recommendations were aimed at stopping the actions of some less than scrupulous landlords.

·         More needed to be done to encourage developers to ‘build to rent’ and the ‘Renters Reform Bill’ would be key in this process.

·         Many landlords were leaving the rental sector and placing their properties on the market.

·         The Local Planning Authority could be more prescriptive about what it would like to see, however, it was a difficult balancing act with what was happening with the open market. 

RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that:

The Devon Housing Commission report and recommendations are taken into account in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41