Ashfield District Council Launches new Housing Strategy

Ashfield District Council has launched its new housing strategy setting how we will ensure Ashfield residents are living in, or can access, homes that are affordable, warm, and safe.
The strategy, which covers affordable housing development, homelessness & rough sleeping prevention, private sector housing and our 30-year housing investment programme will see a number of priorities delivered between now and 2023.
The strategy’s key priorities include:

• Preventing homelessness and rough sleeping
• Developing 100 new Council homes
• Improving standards in the private rented sector
• Maintaining and improving Council homes, including their energy efficiency
• Providing excellent customer service to residents
• Using technology to deliver services more efficiently

Cllr Tom Hollis, Cabinet Member for Council & Social Housing said “The Housing Strategy sets out what we will deliver in the next two years. The Council is ambitious with its housing priorities and work has already started on many of these projects.
“New affordable housing developments are already underway across the District, adding 45 new homes to our housing stock this year. Works to improve energy efficiency in Council homes continues as does our work with private sector landlords.”

 
The 2018-2020 Housing Strategy saw the Council meet a large number of its key priorities, including;

• Nearly £2m worth of Government grants secured in 2021 alone to provide greater thermal efficiency in both our privately owned and our own housing stock.
• Issued over £75,000 worth of civil penalties to unscrupulous private landlords in the last 2 years
• Completed the first enforced sale of a private property that was in serious disrepair
• Introduced new HMO regulations and Mobile Homes licensing regime to improve rented conditions
• Made an offer of accommodation to all street homeless households during the pandemic 2020/21
• Worked in partnership to secure over £1m in external funding each year for rough sleeping services across Nottinghamshire
• Helped secure external funding to continue the Serenity Refuge Scheme for women fleeing domestic abuse

Cllr Hollis continues “We achieved so much as part of the last Housing Strategy, we have been working hard to tackle rogue landlords across the District issuing over £75,000 in fines, had our first ever enforced sale bringing a dilapidated property back into use and secured over £1m of funding we’re using to deliver services and support to rough sleeps.
“The new strategy sets out even more ambitious priorities that will help us in our continued commitment to ensuring Ashfield residents are living in, or can access, homes that are affordable, warm and within a safe community that promotes the health and wellbeing of residents.”