Agenda item

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 the review of the MDDC Housing Strategy due in 2025.

(Proposed by the Chair)

Reason for the decision

As set out in the report.

Note: Cllr C Connor declared a personal interest in that she was a landlord outside of the district. Cllr B Holdman also declared a personal interest in that he was a private sector tenant.