Meeting documents

Affordable Housing Strategy

2004 - 2007

`Delivering affordable homes for local people'

Contents

1 Executive Summary

Provision of affordable housing is a priority for Bath and North East Somerset Council and for the residents of Bath and North East Somerset.

The Affordable Housing Strategy outlines the need for affordable housing in Bath and North East Somerset referencing where further more detailed information can be found. The Strategy then goes on to set out Bath and North East Somerset Council's priorities for the delivery of new affordable housing over the next three-years; sets out the key issues impacting on the delivery of affordable housing and the action that will be taking in relation to these key issues; and identifies how the priorities set out in the Strategy will be resourced.

A wide ranging consultation process led and facilitated by Bath & North East Somerset Council's Housing & Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Panel was undertaken during December and January 2003/04. As far as possible, the priorities, targets and actions set out in the Strategy reflect views expressed by consultees. Quotes used throughout the Strategy are drawn from the consultation process.

There are currently 2544 households on the Homeseekers Register with a recognised need for affordable housing. 571 of these households are homeless, or living in hostel or bed and breakfast accommodation; a further 943 are living with family or friends. Of the 2544 identified as having a housing need, 1442 have specific needs. These include 346 people with mental health needs or learning difficulties; 325 with a physical disability; and 101 with an alcohol or drug addiction.

To buy a property at the bottom 10 percent of the housing market would require an income of between £32K and £37K depending on the location of the property. Bath and North East Somerset average working household income for people aged 20-39 is £32,945. Properties at the bottom end of the market are few in number and are very quickly snapped up.

Priorities and Targets

The priorities and targets set out in the Strategy are:

Priority One: Social Housing to Rent

Target 1a: Develop 160 new units of social housing to rent by March 2007

Target 1b: Target geographical spread of investment in accordance with the profile set out in the chart below.

Priority Two: Extra Care Housing

Target 2a: Develop 60 new extra care flats for older people by March 2007

Priority Three: Temporary Accommodation

Target 3a: Develop 20 new units of temporary social housing by March 2007

Priority Four: Intermediate Housing

Target 4a: Deliver 20 units of intermediate housing for purchase or shared ownership by March 2007

Priority Five: Key Worker Housing

Target 5a: Deliver 40 units of key worker housing by March 2007

Achievement of these targets will see the delivery of 300 new affordable housing units by March 2007.

Key Issues and Actions

The consultation process highlighted key issues that impact on the availability of affordable housing in Bath and North East Somerset. In particular:

· the impact of the student population;

· the contribution that non-traditional dwellings can make to meeting housing need;

· the Homeseekers Policy and how this can best provide access to social rented housing;

· developing the private rented sector as an affordable housing options; and

· home energy efficiency.

These issues are considered in detail in the Strategy with links made to other plans and strategies where relevant. Actions arising from the key issues are set out where appropriate. These are:

Action 1: Agree with the Local Strategic Partnership their role in facilitating discussion and joint action on the issue of student housing by July 2004

Action 2: Housing Advice team to develop an information pack on non-traditional dwellings such as park homes and barges by December 2004.

Action 3: Bath and North East Somerset Council will continue to work with social and private sector landlords to promote and improve home energy efficiency. The Council will also continue to play a key role in delivering the actions and initiatives set out in West of England Sustainable Energy Strategy and Action Plan.

Resourcing the Priorities

Investment from Bath and North East Somerset Council's overall capital resources can make an important contribution to funding the investment priorities set out in the Strategy. However, in addition to the delivery of affordable housing the Council has other priorities and other calls on its capital resources. As a consequence, it is necessary to resource the priorities set out in a number of different ways. These are considered in detail in the Strategy. In summary, they are:

· making effective use of planning policy;

· assembling viable development sites from the land and/or property holdings of two or more parties;

· using Council assets to support and contribute to the delivery of affordable housing;

· bringing empty properties back into use;

· maximising inward investment from the Single Housing Investment Pot for South West England and specific, ring-fenced grants/funds; and

· allocation of funding from the Council's overall capital resources.

Actions and targets arising from the key issues are set out where appropriate. These are:

Action 4: Planning Services and Housing Services will continue to work together with other relevant partners to maximise the delivery of affordable housing through planning policy.

Target 6: Agree a "lead partner" for seeking and facilitating site assembly opportunities by July 2004

Action 5: In order to ensure that opportunities for both financial and other benefits are assessed from a cross-Council viewpoint, development proposals will be considered in relation to the Council's strategic objectives, via: a) the City Centre Co-ordination Group; and b) the Capital Strategy & Asset Management Group.

Action 6: Property Services will continue to work with Housing Services, partner Registered Social Landlords and other potential partners to bring empty properties into use as affordable housing where this is possible and financially viable, by providing the information and advice needed to make an informed decision.

Action 7a: The Council will continue to provide financial assistance, in the form of loans, to bring empty properties back in to use.

Action 7b: Any additional revenue generated by the proposed reduction in the discount on Council Tax on second homes will be used to support delivery of affordable housing.

Action 8a: The Council will work with neighbouring authorities to identify and address cross-boundary housing issues at an operational, policy and strategic level.

Action 8b: The Council and the LSP will seek, wherever possible, to influence and guide the priorities set out in the SW Regional Housing Strategy.

Action 9: The Council will be proactive in seeking opportunities to bid for targeted funds.

Action 10: Council to agree a housing capital investment programme of £4 million in 2004/05 with a commitment to seek to continue this level of investment during the life of the Corporate Plan.

2 Introduction

Provision of affordable housing is a priority for Bath and North East Somerset Council and for the residents of Bath and North East Somerset.

In November 2002, a questionnaire was distributed to members of the Bath and North East Somerset community via the Voice Box panel. 47% of respondents considered affordable decent housing important in making somewhere a good place to live. The same number felt that this was one of the issues that most needed improvement across the area. In both cases, only one issue - a low level of crime - was highlighted by a greater number of respondents. On 20th November 2003, the Council agreed a draft Corporate Plan Framework for 2003-2007. One of the Improvement Priorities agreed as part of this Framework is "increase availability of affordable housing".

This Affordable Housing Strategy outlines the need for affordable housing in Bath and North East Somerset referencing where further, more detailed information can be found. The Strategy then goes on to set out Bath and North East Somerset Council's priorities for the delivery of new affordable housing over the next three-years; sets out the key issues impacting on the delivery of affordable housing and the action that will be taking in relation to these key issues; and identifies how the priorities set out in the Strategy will be resourced.

The Strategy is intended both to co-ordinate and join-up the efforts and resources of Bath and North East Somerset Council and partners in delivering affordable housing and to inform and support future bids for external funding.

3 Development of the Affordable Housing Strategy

3.1 Vision

Delivering affordable homes for local people

3.2 Methodology

This three-year Affordable Housing Strategy has been developed through:

· Undertaking an appraisal of the options for investing in affordable housing post March 2005, which marks the end of the Council's current £18 million, 6-year investment programme for new affordable housing;

· A desktop review of related strategies and plans;

· Needs mapping and analysis of supply;

· The drafting of an `issues paper' setting out the challenges and options for delivering affordable housing in the future as a basis for consultation;

· A wide ranging consultation process led and facilitated by Bath & North East Somerset Council's Housing & Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Panel during December and January 2003/04;

· Further involvement of relevant services from across Bath and North East Somerset Council in reviewing consultation feedback and refining priorities and actions in light of that feedback.

3.3 Stakeholder Involvement

The issues paper used as a basis for consultation by Housing & Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Panel was developed with the involvement of Bath & North East Somerset's Joint Commissioning Partnership for affordable housing (comprising Council officers, the Council's five Registered Social Landlord preferred partners for the development of new affordable housing, and the Housing Corporation). Also, through two workshops comprising officers from Social & Housing Services, Planning, Economic & Environmental Development, Transport Corporate Projects as well as the Executive Members for Community Safety, Housing & Consumer Services and Sustainability & the Environment.

Housing & Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Panel (here-on referred to as `Overview & Scrutiny' subsequently undertook a review with the purpose of providing input, via public consultation, to the Affordable Housing Strategy. Details of the consultation undertaken by Overview & Scrutiny follow:

Homeseekers Register Focus Groups

Key Worker Groups - Informal Discussion

Thursday 8^th January

Local Strategic Partnership Public Meeting

Tues 13^th January, Keynsham

In addition, a press-release and website were established seeking comments, feedback and suggestions from residents of Bath and North East Somerset; comment was also sought from Registered Social Landlords, private developers and neighbouring local housing authorities.

In January 2004 Overview & Scrutiny Panel met to review and discuss all the information gathered during the consultation process and to draw out what they considered to be the main issues. The quotes used throughout The Strategy are directly drawn from the consultation undertaken by Overview & Scrutiny.

4 Context

Provision of affordable housing is a priority for Bath and North East Somerset Council and for the residents of Bath and North East Somerset.

In November 2002, a questionnaire was distributed to members of the Bath and North East Somerset community via the Voice Box panel. 47% of respondents considered affordable decent housing important in making somewhere a good place to live. The same number felt that this was one of the issues that most needed improvement across the area. In both cases, only one issue - a low level of crime - was highlighted by a greater number of respondents. On 20th November 2003, the Council agreed a draft Corporate Plan Framework for 2003-2007. One of the Improvement Priorities agreed as part of this Framework is "increase availability of affordable housing".

In order to afford a home at the lower end of the market in the Midsomer Norton/Radstock, area, which has the lowest property prices in Bath and North East Somerset, an income of between £31,347 (borrowing four times income) and £41,796 (borrowing three times income) would be needed. To purchase a property at the lower end of the market in Bath an income of between £45,766 (outer Bath, borrowing four times income) and £62,569 (inner Bath, borrowing three times income) would be required.

Many potential employees are discouraged from moving to Bath and North East Somerset because of their perceptions of the high cost of housing. This has the potential to have a significant impact on the local labour market, leading to recruitment difficulties and skill shortages across all sectors, and consequent impacts upon the local economy. Public services such as health services are particularly hard hit by the impact of high house prices compared to wage levels.

The South West Housing Body (SWHB) has recognised the increasing gap between house prices and incomes and has emphasised the consequent risk to balanced communities over the longer-term. These pressures are increasingly being felt across the area. It is common for young people to be forced to leave villages because of rising house prices and lack of affordable homes. The South West Regional Assembly has identified access to affordable housing as a key issue for the South West as part of the development of its Integrated Regional Strategy.

Following the transfer of Bath and North East Somerset Council's housing stock to Somer Community Housing Trust in 1999, a programme to deliver 600 new units of affordable housing by March 2005 was established. £18 million of the capital receipt from this transfer was ring-fenced to fund this programme. Despite this ambitious programme, there is still a significant gap between the supply of and need for affordable housing. There are currently 2544 households on the Homeseekers Register with a recognised need for affordable housing. 571 of these households are homeless, or living in hostel or bed and breakfast accommodation; a further 943 are living with family or friends. Of the 2544 identified as having a housing need, 1442 have specific needs. These include 346 people with mental health needs or learning difficulties; 325 with a physical disability; and 101 with an alcohol or drug addiction.

Development of new affordable housing currently requires an average grant or subsidy of £60,000. This compares with a £35,000 grant in 1999. This increase reflects increasing land and property prices and increasing construction costs. To deliver 100 new affordable homes each year would, therefore, require capital funding of £6,000,000 in 2004/05 rising to £7,260,000 (assuming 10% inflation) in 2006/07. As a result of the sale of affordable housing under the Right to Buy (RTB), even this very significant capital investment would not result in a net increase in affordable housing. Indeed, there would still be an annual net loss from the social housing sector of 92 properties (taking average RTB sales in the past 4 years).

In order to address this growing deficit a range of measures is needed in addition to continued capital investment. These measures include delivery of affordable housing through planning policy; use of Council property and land assets; working in partnership on a local and sub-regional basis; and ensuring that there are links between The Strategy and other relevant plans, strategies and programmes.

BE: Better for Everyone, Bath and North East Somerset's Community Strategy sets out the following areas of focus under the priority theme BE: At Home:

· examining the issues underlying housing affordability in Bath and North East Somerset

· ensuring that local needs for affordable housing are properly understood at national and regional level

· maximising opportunities to deliver new affordable housing

· making the case at regional level for funding for affordable housing

· recognising the different community needs of villages, market towns and larger urban areas when planning to meet both the need and demand for housing

· using the Local Plan and strategic development sites to secure affordable housing

· ensuring that key worker housing needs are properly understood and addressed

· working with Higher / Further education providers to manage student housing requirements

· making best use of existing resources including empty or under utilised housing and other property, paying particular attention to potential land assembly opportunities through LSP members

· applying high standards of design and environmental quality to housing developments, including designing out crime through the Secure by Design standards

· promoting and enforcing good standards in private sector housing

· supporting older and vulnerable people in their own homes and promoting independent living

· promoting and maintaining diverse communities through mixed tenure neighbourhoods

· encouraging and supporting residents and communities to become more actively involved in making their communities liveable places

· preventing homelessness through the provision of good standards of accessible temporary accommodation and support for individuals to secure and maintain longer-term homes.

All of these areas of focus directly or indirectly relate to the delivery of affordable housing and many are explored in detail in The Strategy.

5 Affordable Housing Needs Analysis

5.1 General Housing Need

The 2000 Housing Survey clearly identified a need for affordable housing. The Survey found:

· 11.25% of all surveyed felt that their accommodation was not adequate for their needs

· 25% of those who thought the property inadequate said that it needed improvement or repair, (representing about 4,033 properties in all); over 25% (4099) said that it was too small; 12% (1,966) that it was too costly to heat

· 14% of households in the area contain someone with specific need, suggesting about 9,400 households in all

· 914 households contain someone who is a wheelchair user, but only 46% of households affected live in an adapted dwelling

· Around 2,295 households are living within another household ("concealed households")

· 48% of these concealed households would like to become owner occupiers but 1,776 (60%) have annual incomes below £17,500 and could not afford even the cheapest property in the area, even where a reasonable supply is available

· 83% of concealed households expressed a preference for one or two bedroom property with 57% looking for a flat and 20% a terraced property

· 2,234 households want to move but cannot do so - 2,175 households are unable to afford a move and 1,069 cannot find a suitable property

· 5,550 households plan to move away from Bath & North East Somerset, 935 because of lack of affordable housing. The majority (2,687) are leaving because of employment reasons

This level of detailed information cannot be extracted from the Homeseekers Register, which is the main point of entry for households who need or want affordable housing to rent in Bath and North East Somerset. However, the Homeseekers Register does provide up to date information on the need for affordable housing to rent and on the area(s) where people want or need to live.

On 19/1/2004, 4018 households were on the Homeseekers Register. Of these, 2544 (63%) had a need for affordable housing, with "need" loosely defined to include homelessness, having a medical reason to move, overcrowding or unfitness of current dwelling. All applicants in the highest band on the Homeseekers Register, `Quality of Life' were included as having a housing need.

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the property size needed. This shows that 75% of households need one bedroom, with a further 5% needing 2 bedrooms.

Table 1: Property Size (Number of bedrooms needed)

Table 2 shows where households wish to live, with some households also having a need to live in their first choice area (for example, some key workers). 70% of households want to live in Bath; 11.5% in Keynsham or Saltford; 11% in Midsomer Norton, Radstock or Paulton.

Table 2: First Choice area

`They should look to increase housing outside Bath as well, in Keynsham, in Saltford.' [Focus Group, Homeless Households]

Table 3 shows the tenure of households, with 571 or 22% homeless or living in hostel or bed and breakfast and 943 or 37% living with family or friends. Those living with family or friends are often referred to as `concealed households'. Of the 230 Owner Occupiers, 202 are aged 60 or over.

Table 3: Current tenure

A sub-regional Housing Markets Study is currently being carried out. This Study will update information on a housing need and aspirations across all housing tenures gathered for the 2000 Housing Survey. The first phase of the Housing Markets Study, which will encompass Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucester and North Somerset and the travel to work areas for Bath, Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare, is due to report in draft form in January 2004 with a final report published in spring 2004.

5.2 Affordability

The question of what constitutes "affordable housing" has been the subject of much debate both nationally and locally. For the purposes of The Strategy, affordable housing is defined as:

"The range of both subsidised and market housing that will be available for those households whose income generally denies them the opportunity to purchase or rent houses on the open market as a result of the local relationship between income and market price".

This definition also appears in Bath and North East Somerset's Local Plan.

`You should not pay more than about a third of your income, I pay about ¾ of my income' [Focus Group, Private Housing]

`I pay about ½ of my income, but more than that when you include council tax' [Focus Group, Private Housing]

`Having spent most of my life in Bath, I feel I have been pushed out of the city due to high rent and impossible house prices. Having rented in Bath for about 7 years I have found myself with a bad debt which will take me around 5 years to pay off' [Resident submission to Overview & Scrutiny Panel]

Average property prices in Bath and North East Somerset are £178,000. Assuming a 2.5% deposit is required (£4450) the following incomes would be needed depending on how much lenders are prepared to lend.

This assumes one income. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation¹ used a multiplier of 3 for their work and the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (IMD)² 3.5 for theirs.

Data from New Earnings Survey (NES)³ shows many of those in full-time employment in Bath and North East Somerset earn nowhere near this amount.

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References:

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has taken this work a step further by considering the type of property first time buyers are likely to want/be able to buy and the age/income of the prospective buyers.

The JRF study looks at 4/5 room dwellings (one or two bedrooms, living rooms and kitchen). It found the average price for such a dwelling in Bath and North East Somerset was £139,936 at the end of 2002. It then calculated the average working household income for people aged 20-39 to be £32,945. This yields an income to house price multiplier of 4.25.

JRF then went on to calculate the lower quartile price for a 4/5 room dwelling in Bath and North East Somerset as £112,453. JRF then calculated the income needed to purchase based on a lending multiple of 3 and the percentage of households that would be excluded from buying on this basis. A 5% deposit was assumed.

It lastly calculates that key workers earn on average 60.4% of the income needed to purchase a lower quartile priced dwelling.

The following table shows how the cost of properties at the lower end of the market increased between 1996 and 2003 using the first quarter of 1996 as the starting point.

This means the lower quartile house price in Bath and North East Somerset has increased 144% in 7 years. In simple terms a house that would have cost £100,000 in Bath and North East Somerset in 1996 now costs £244,000. This is set against a backdrop of inflation running at around 2-3% per year (around 19% over 1996 to 2003) and wage increases not much higher.

Data for Bath and North East Somerset at a more detailed level (postcode sectors) is available but only in terms of average price for 4 types of dwelling (Terraced, semi-detached, detached and flat/maisonette).

Combining this information with the lower quartile information from the Land Registry⁴ yields some estimates of lower quartile price in different areas of Bath and North East Somerset along with the incomes needed to purchase these properties.

The postcodes that make up these areas are listed below:

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References:

4. Land Registry website: http://www.landreg.gov.uk/propertyprice/interactive/

A survey was made of the free Bath Property paper for week commencing 19^th January 2004.

Table 4 sets out the number of properties found by area.

Table 4: 1 or 2 Bed Properties in Paper

A total of 124 one or two bedroom properties were advertised. No one or two bedroom properties were in areas 6, 7, 10 & 11.

Table 5 summarises the prices asked and the incomes that would be needed to purchase under lending rules of 3 times income and 2.5% deposit. Because of the small number of properties outside of Bath advertised, areas outside of Bath have been aggregated under "other B&NES".

Table 5: 1 and 2 Bed Lower End of Market

To buy a property in the bottom 10 percent of the market therefore would require an income of between £32K and £37K depending on the location of the property. Bath and North East Somerset average working household income for people aged 20-39 is £32,945.

`I have been to mortgage advisors and they laugh, as the wage I am on can't buy anything!' [Nursery Nurse, living with parents as unable to rent privately or purchase]

`I have been searching for somewhere to live in my home town of Midsomer Norton for several years. I am in full time employment, but am paying off a student loan... so the best Mortgage I have been offered is £40,000, which will not even buy me a corridor, let along the rest of a house. Renting in the town is impossible, the average rent is £500 and I only bring home £800 per month, and even if there was somewhere affordable there are usually 20 others after the same place... Imagine being 32 and single and living with your parents'. [Individual submission to Overview & Scrutiny]

Whilst differences in the date that property price and income data were collected and in the way that data was collected and analysed have led to some variation, the information presented does make it clear that a significant proportion of households are unable to purchase a property in any part of Bath and North East Somerset.

Private renting is also beyond the means of many households.

Table 6 gives average rent levels in the private sector. To afford private rent on a 2-bed house the household income would have to be a minimum of £27,000 per annum before tax. In addition to this monthly rental, most, if not all, private landlords require payment of a deposit (usually the equivalent of one month's rent) and one month's rent in advance. It is also usual for an "administrative" charge to be made for setting up a new tenancy. On average, a new tenant of two bedroom private rented accommodation would need to make a lump sum payment of £1,400-£1,500. Many private landlords will not consider renting to people in receipt of Housing Benefit.

`If you want to get a private place to rent you can't because you can't get a deposit.' [Focus Group, Homeless Households]

`The problem is that landlords don't want certain people in there. They wouldn't want me, I am on benefits.' [Focus Group, Concealed Households]

`Affordable is a lot less than you think. You can't spend 60% of your earnings on rent, especially when you have bills to pay.' [Focus Group, Concealed Households]

Table 6: Average private rent per month

Source: Local reference rents - The Rent Service

Through public subsidy rent levels can be kept affordable for those households who are on a low income as illustrated in Table 7.

Table 7: Average Registered Social Landlord per Month

Source: Housing Corporation Guidelines

5.3 Specific Needs

Statutorily Homeless Households

Bath & North East Somerset's Homelessness Review and Strategy, published in August 2003, sets out in detail the current and future levels of homelessness, causes and an Action Plan to tackle homelessness.

A significant number of statutory homeless households are housed in stages and are, in the first instance, provided with temporary accommodation. In May 2003 the total numbers of accepted cases were 176, with 69 units of temporary accommodation provided by Bath Self Help Housing Association. There continues to be a shortage of suitable temporary accommodation households and, as a consequence, the Council does place homeless households in bed & breakfast accommodation. The week commencing 16 January 2004, there were 37 households in bed & breakfast, including 2 families with dependent children and 5 young people aged 16-17.

One of the targets in the Action Plan which was drawn up following a review by Overview & Scrutiny Panel for Housing of the use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for families and young people was to identify one or two sites/ properties for the development of new temporary social housing scheme(s).

`There should be more temporary accommodation leading to permanent accommodation.' [Focus Group, Homeless Households]

`I think if they increased the amount of temporary accommodation it would help an awful lot of people, it could offer a lot of people a lot of stability, which is what they want'. [Focus Group, Homeless Households]

In the longer-term, most statutorily homeless households are offered a secure tenancy with a Registered Social Landlord. However, there is a clear need for additional temporary social housing with appropriate support.

Older People

One of the improvement priorities in Bath and North East Somerset Council's draft Corporate Plan Framework for 2003-2007 is "Promoting the Independence of Older People". An important part of achieving this priority is the provision of housing which is designed to meet the specific needs of older people and the provision of appropriate support and care. Providing older people with greater choice about where they live and how their care and support needs are met not only promotes independence, it may also result in a freeing up of larger family housing in both the private and social housing sector.

`Elderly people need to be respected and offered socialised housing for the elderly...' [Focus Group, Elderly People]

`If you were living in a little bungalow on your own it is essential that you have a warden'. [Focus Group, Elderly People]

`I have a big house and I live on my own. That is costly to me. I think to myself, there is lots of room in this and I don't need it, and there are lots of families who can't find anywhere. Why should I be living in a big house?' [Focus Group, Elderly People]

`I don't even use the upstairs in my house, there is all this room there, and I have to get people to sort the garden out - because I can't do it - and yet I live there and I think to myself, there is that young family there who need somewhere to live.' [Focus Group, Elderly People]

`There is a need for support for older people'. [Focus Group, Elderly People]

Provision of sheltered accommodation in Bath & North East Somerset is relatively high. There are 2246 sheltered housing units in Bath & North East Somerset. In addition there are a further 52 units of extra care sheltered housing, taking the overall total to 2298 units. This accommodation is mainly provided by Somer Community Housing Trust.

On July 12th 2002, the Council Executive considered options for the re-provision of the Council's Elderly Persons Homes (EPHs). The Executive decided that the preferred model of care for consultation with residents, their families, staff and Trades Unions was the provision of three Elderly Persons Homes providing a total of 105 beds and 75 Extra care Units. Following consultation, the decision was reached in October 2002 to proceed with this model of care and to build three new Community Resource Centres for older people on sites in Midsomer Norton, Keynsham and Bath. Somer Community Housing Trust has been appointed as the partner Registered Social Landlord in this project. Somer will manage the extra care housing element of the new provision with Bath and North East Somerset Council providing care.

Learning Difficulties

Demand for independent accommodation is increasing because carers are ageing and people with learning difficulties are living longer, more fulfilling lives. Also, "Valuing People", the White Paper about people with learning difficulties, emphasises the importance of increasing independence and choice. To meet the rising need, some supported housing is required alongside schemes that help more people live in their own homes.

Currently there are 68 people with significant learning difficulties living as tenants in Bath and North East Somerset.

"Valuing People" emphasises the importance of increasing independence and choice for people with learning difficulties including improved access to a range of accommodation options.

A local five year Housing and Support Strategy has been produced outlining levels of need, the local housing and support market conditions, available investment and the strategic approach required for service development. The document highlights 110 people potentially requiring supported independent living over a three year period, 50 percent of whom can be accommodated in general needs housing. The remaining 50 percent will need specialist provision to meet specific needs.

The priority groups identified for housing and support are young people in transition from children to adult services, people currently living out of area and older carers of people with learning difficulties.

Physical Disability

Although the Council assists both, private sector and social housing households with adaptation grants, there is a proven need for more specific wheelchair accessible homes for households on low incomes.

Research by Joseph Rowntree Trust (2000) has demonstrated that successful adaptations deliver the key social care objectives of the government - i.e. assisting people to remain at home and supporting carers.

In 2002/03, 294 individual requests for Disabled Facility Grants were made, an increase of 45 requests from the previous year. The last 2 years have seen a continuing upward trend in the number of requests received, and it is anticipated this will continue in order to support people at home.

The budget available for Disabled Facility Grants was £550,000 in 2002/03, which was overspent by 20%. It is estimated, at an average cost of £2,500 per grant, that £760,000 is required to meet requests currently received, and an additional £112,500 per annum to meet anticipated demand.

The provision of Disabled Facility Grants assist in supporting disabled people to live at home, reduce the need for care support at home and the need for residential care; and increase the speed of discharge from hospital.

People with Mental Illness and Disorder

The Mental Health Service Development and Implementation Group (SDIG) have described the unmet needs of people with mental health problems in its recent service improvement plan. The plan highlights specific difficulties relating to hospital discharge which can be linked to gaps in the provision of accommodation and support services for this group.

People with mental health problems and complex needs make up a high proportion of vulnerable homeless people applying for social housing. There continues to be a shortage of suitable temporary accommodation.

A review of all mental health accommodation in Bath & North East Somerset, completed in the year 2000, identified a lack of appropriate move on support for tenants who wish to live more independently. As a result it is more difficult for people to move on from supported accommodation schemes.

Young People at Risk/Care Leavers

Between 15 and 20 young people leave the local authority's care each year. Most need some form of housing. Primarily, these are 18 years old, with a small number aged 16-17, with a history of living in foster care and needing to move into (or towards) independent living.

In the first instance, Care Leavers may move into supported accommodation in schemes such as Pathways and The Hawthorns or into supported living arrangements. In most cases, the longer-term aim is for these young people to move on to independent living.

However, availability of supported and independent housing for young people remains an issue and in some cases young people have been placed in bed and breakfast accommodation until more suitable accommodation has become available.

In 2002/03 Bath & North East Somerset re-housed 36 homeless young people aged 16-17.

In the rural areas of Bath & North East Somerset, there is a problem with isolated young people facing homelessness because they are unable to sustain tenancies. They are often unable to access services in the larger towns as transport is inadequate and, in many cases, they do not identify with other areas of Bath & North East Somerset. Also, most young people are understandably reluctant to leave behind whatever support networks they have. Bath & North East Somerset Single Homeless Partnership has prioritised the need for a full-time Young People's Tenancy Support Worker to cover the rural areas and is working towards delivering this service

Bath & North East Somerset Council has recently recruited a Young People's Accommodation Officer who will develop a Supported Lodgings Scheme. The aim of the Scheme will be to develop a pool of housing with support for care-leavers in both the private and social housing sectors.

Teenage Parents

From April 2004, Local Authorities are legally required to ensure that support is available to all lone teenage parents aged 16 and 17. By 31^st December 2003 eleven 16 and 17 year old lone parents required accommodation.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is currently commissioning a service that will meet the needs of young parents in their own tenancies via floating support with funding from the Supporting People programme.

Ex-offenders

Research shows that two thirds of ex-offenders who had no satisfactory accommodation on release from custody re-offend within twelve months of release as opposed to only one quarter of those with appropriate accommodation.

Approximately 120 new referrals are made by Bath Probation Services each year to organisations providing accommodation for ex-offenders. Supported housing is a key need for ex-offenders along with move-on housing with after-care support.

`The new schemes being provided this year are specifically aimed at the very high number of offenders who do so to fund their addiction, receive little or no help in prison to come off drugs (in fact many continue to use), and once out fall straight back into re-offending. The Safer Communities funding through the Home Office for the 2 new schemes this year will help address this problem by providing a safe home, rehabilitation and life skills support, with subsequent move on for those that succeed. The Council should perhaps make a more positive commitment to monitoring these new schemes in the short term and then perhaps a medium term commitment to prioritise further schemes depending upon their success.' [Local Strategic Partnership submission to Overview & Scrutiny Panel]

Links to Supporting People

The Supporting People programme can be considered to be a delivery tool for a number of other strategic agendas, including the affordable housing strategy.

The information on specific needs set out in the above sections has been used to inform the Supporting People Shadow Strategy and the priorities for development set out within it. The current programme delivers revenue to a number of housing and support providers with the aim of meeting the identified needs of vulnerable groups in the following ways:

· The provision of hostel and dispersed temporary accommodation for statutorily homeless households

· The provision of sheltered and extra care housing for older people and the development of Extra care housing as an alternative to registered residential care

· The provision of accommodation based and floating support services for people with a range of learning difficulties

· The provision of home improvement services for elderly and physically disabled people

· The provision of accommodation based and floating support services for people with mental health problems

· The provision of accommodation based and floating support services for vulnerable young people

· The development of a dry house and linked floating support service for ex-offenders

The Supporting People five year strategy is currently in development for submission to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in November 2004. The updated strategy will build on existing data on supply and demand in relation to all vulnerable groups and will set out future spending priorities based on robust needs data.

The developing strategy is steered by the Supporting People Commissioning Body, a group comprising senior representatives from health, housing, social services and probation.

The Supporting People Core Strategy Group drives the strategy development process forward and has a particular role in ensuring that all relevant stakeholders make a contribution to the process and that broader agendas are reflected. Membership of the group is broad with each service user group covered by the programme being represented.

The strategy and annual financial plan will be presented to the Council Executive for approval in October 2004. The agreed priorities set out in the Supporting People strategy will form the basis of all commissioning activity for the following five years and as such will be an important reference document for the sub-regional housing enabling partnership in preparing capital bids for submission to the Housing Corporation in October 2005 and future years.

5.4 Rural Housing Needs

Over 90% of Bath & North East Somerset is classified as rural with almost one third of the area designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Key issues impacting on rural communities include: an acute lack of opportunities to access affordable housing; lower wages; higher costs of living, especially transport costs; and the high cost of housing.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has worked with Parish Councils to undertake a number of village appraisals. These village appraisals have found that it is very common for young people to be forced to leave their villages because of rising house prices and a lack of affordable homes. Historic data shows little movement in the social rented housing sector in villages, other than existing tenants invoking their Right to Buy. Some villages in Bath & North East Somerset have no social housing at all.

`In rural communities, the main driving force has to be "local homes for local people" against a background of ever steeply rising house prices'. [Ubley Parish Council]

The Rural White Paper contains the challenging target for the South West of delivering 1,600 homes in settlements of less than 3,000 people. Delivering an increased rural housing programme has become a strategic priority for the Housing Corporation South West. Although Bath & North East Somerset has been set a modest target - 12 units by 2004, rural housing need is expected to be a Government priority in future years.

Bath and North East Somerset , North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are working in partnership with Community Action (Rural Community Council for the former Avon area), Knightstone HA, English Rural HA and the Rural Housing Trust to deliver a programme of new affordable homes in our villages and rural areas.

Established in 2002, the Partnership employs a Rural Housing Enabler who started in post in early 2003, funded by the partners, the Countryside Agency and the Housing Corporation. It is the aim that all Partnership members will agree and adopt The Strategy in the first half of 2004.

The draft Strategy reflects the objectives of the Rural Housing Partnership, which are:

· To support the sustainability of rural communities by increasing the range of housing options for people on lower incomes.

· To promote economic sustainability for rural businesses and agriculture by supporting housing options for local employees.

· To support the regeneration of rural communities experiencing social exclusion.

· To raise the profile of affordable housing issues to parish councils and the local community

· To protect and enhance the environment by building to high standards of design, making sustainable construction a priority and ensuring design sympathetic to village character.

· To ensure the involvement of the local community in the delivery of affordable housing

· Regardless of local authority boundaries, to encourage neighbouring villages to jointly consider how to meet affordable housing need.

· To maximise opportunities to secure affordable housing on speculative developments in rural areas, promoting a range of tenures to increase housing options for local people.

5.5 Intermediate Housing Needs

As illustrated in the section on Affordability above, a growing number of households in Bath and North East Somerset are excluded from home ownership because of the gap between household income and property prices. Many of these households also have insufficient income to rent a property on the open market and are unable or unwilling to access the social housing sector. This group of people fall into the housing market now being termed "Intermediate Housing". The umbrella term "intermediate housing" encompasses low-cost home ownership, shared ownership schemes, and low-cost home ownership schemes specifically targeted at key workers.

`When I discovered I was pregnant my partner and I started looking for our own house. I found that on both of our earnings we could get a mortgage for around £60,000. With this information I started looking for houses. I quickly became aware that there were no properties available anywhere near this price. We started to look at houses in a poor state of repair or that needed building work, again we found that these properties were too expensive as so many people were jumping on the band wagon of buy to let...' [lived all life in Clutton, 4^th generation of family to live in Clutton]

`My partner and I are both 32 and have a son who is almost 5. We have a combined salary of £33,000 (I work part-time in order to be able to still look after our son). We currently rent a 3 bedroom semi-detached house for £550 a month. We have looked into getting a mortgage and, based on our earnings, we would be able to borrow £95,000. We would need a 100% mortgage as we are not in a position to save any money for a deposit. We previously rented a 2 bedroom semi-detached house just around the corner which was recently for sale at £114,000. Because of the lack of affordable housing in this area, neither of us think that we will be able to afford to buy a home in the foreseeable future which is a shame as we would very much like to settle here' [Individual submission to Overview & Scrutiny]

There is a clear need for low-cost home ownership and shared ownership schemes to meet intermediate housing needs.

5.6 Key Workers

Traditionally, key workers have included nurses, teachers and members of the police and fire services. However, by encompassing broader issues of community and economic development, there are strong arguments to include certain modestly paid private sector professions without which the relevant companies may struggle to provide their services efficiently.

For the purposes of The Strategy, the Housing Corporation's definition of key workers is adopted. This is:

Employees in essential, universally accessible public and private services, without whom those services would operate at below optimal levels

Findings of consultation with key workers and the organisations that employ key workers were mixed. Avon and Somerset Police Authority reported no problems with recruitment or retention. However, it was acknowledged that officers working in Bath and North East Somerset are not, in the main, Bath and North East Somerset based, they tend to live in Bristol or Wiltshire. This impacts on commuting distance and journey times and the Police Authority would like officers to live within the community they police. Civilian support staff are more affected by the problems of house prices due to their lower wages (typically £10-15,000). Some Police Officers and support staff fed their comments directly into the consultation process. The quotes below provide a flavour of their experience:

`Most lenders will permit customers to borrow four times their annual salary. For myself, this means a grand total of approximately £90,000... To actually be considered for four times your salary, lenders specify you have a deposit of over 10% of the mortgage value. If you don't have this you can only be considered for 3.5 times your annual salary (£80,000). Therefore taking the cheapest house I have currently found at £125,000... I would require a minimum deposit of £12,000, and would be paying monthly contributions of £625. As you can see, I fall short of the required total...' [Police Officer]

`On my wage of £13,600 and being single, I am unable to buy a house not only in Bath, but anywhere in the surrounding area. I have managed to save a deposit of £5,000, but even this does not get me anywhere near the target.... On my wage and with a £5,000 deposit, the most I can get on a mortgage is about £60,000, which obviously wouldn't even buy me a one room studio flat... Unfortunately I am in a lose lose situation, as rents are so high in Bath and the surrounding area, even if I did rent something, I would then be in a position where I would not be able to save any money towards owning a home of my own.' [District Support Clerk who has worked for the force for 8 years]

B&NES Primary Care Trust (PCT) reported no great problems for recruitment and retention of PCT directly employed staff. There are problems with staff turnover at the Royal United Hospital (RUH). High turnover of staff means heavy reliance on agency staff, which is costly for the local NHS. The starting salary for a newly qualified nurse is approximately £17,000. After 7-8 years, an E grade nurse earns about £21,500 and a G grade ward sister earns about £27,000. PCT/RUH priorities are to address the agency bill and the cost of housing is viewed as a contributory factor in this. The primary target area for staff retention is newly qualified nurses.

The RUH consider the availability of affordable housing in the area as `quite high' in reducing the costs of recruitment and retention of staff and the follow-on impacts on quality of service provided at the RUH.

`I am single and living with my parents, I'd planned this year to buy a house but am finding it impossible. With an annual income of £17,000 my mortgage entitlement has been calculated at about £70,000, I couldn't even afford a 1 bedroom flat for that kind of money' [Staff Nurse]

Avon Fire Brigade reported no problems with recruitment and retention of fire fighters. `Retained' fire fighters are, however, a different matter. Retained fire fighters serve mainly rural and small town areas. They must live and work within a short distance (5-minutes call-out) of the fire station. There are problems in some areas, for example, Chew Magna and Radstock, in recruiting retained fire fighters. The high cost of housing in areas surrounding fire stations mean that likely recruits are unable to live nearby and therefore cannot meet the 5-minute response time.

`There was support from a majority for priority for key workers, those in rural areas as well as urban areas'. [Chew Magna Parish Council]

Bath and North East Somerset Council reported that the main issue is teacher recruitment in certain subjects. The initial relocation/establishment of new employees into the area is a key priority and there is support for developments in affordable housing that could improve recruitment and retention of staff.

5.7 Student Housing

Bath and North East Somerset has an increasing student population. Bath Spa University currently has 4,500 students with further expansion planned in line with Government policy. This expansion is likely to see between six and seven thousand students at Bath Spa by 2010. Some students do not live in Bath and North East Somerset and some are existing established residents with their own homes. As a consequence, the planned expansion in student numbers is not necessarily directly linked with housing need.

Currently, Bath Spa accommodation is allocated to first-year students. Usual first-year intake is around 1,200 a year with around 1,000 needing accommodation. Bath Spa has 400 study bedrooms at Newton Park and 150 at Somerset Place. An additional 316 units at Lower Bristol Road will become available in September 2004. Bath Spa contracts with private sector landlords to meet the shortfall in accommodation for first-year students. In the current year the shortfall was for 450 bedrooms (approximately 120 houses). Next year, the shortfall is likely to be about 70 bedrooms because of the new units at Lower Bristol Road. Second and Third-year students find their own accommodation in the private sector. The main student areas are Oldfield Park and Claverton Down.

The University of Bath is able to house all first-year students in the University's own accommodation on campus. Second and third year students move into the private sector. The University of Bath considers there to be a good supply of private rented accommodation. Students are considered to provide opportunities and advantages for private sector landlords because of the generally good behaviour of students (they are reliable payers, backed by parental financial support). Also, student rentals yield high rental income, typically in the region of £800-£1,000 per house per month.

The University of Bath's long-term strategy is to house 50% of students in University accommodation. This includes housing more final year students to enable concentrated study on campus.

`The University is massive and there are so many students renting the accommodation and that makes the shortage in Bath so much worse'. [Focus Group with concealed households]

`I think one of the problems in Bath is the students. A lot of the property is rented out to students, and a lot of the property that goes out to rent does go out to students. And they know they are going to get the money back from students'. [Focus Group with homeless households]

It is clear that the housing needs of students have a direct impact on the private rented sector - particularly in Bath. It also impacts on the cost and availability of larger properties for sale as landlords purchase to let to students.

6 Priorities for Investment

Analysis of the need for affordable housing and feedback from consultation with a wide range of stakeholders point to clear priorities for future investment, which are set out below.

6.1 Priority One: Social Housing to Rent

The current need for affordable housing to rent is, conservatively, 2544. The supply of affordable housing to rent is currently declining with a net loss to the sector of 179 properties, through the Right to Buy, in the past four years.

Many specific needs can be met by the provision of social housing to rent with appropriate care and support. The Strategy does not seek to address, in detail, the need for housing related support or how housing-related support needs will be met. This is addressed, in detail, in the current Supporting People Shadow Strategy and will be addressed in the Supporting People Strategy, which is currently being developed and is due for publication in November 2004.

Needs analysis and consultation feedback clearly highlights social housing to rent as the greatest need under the umbrella term `affordable housing'.

Target 1a: Develop 160 new units of social housing to rent by March 2007.

Applicants with an affordable housing need on the Homeseekers Register are asked to state which part of Bath & North East Somerset would be their first choice for re-housing. This gives a clear indication of how investment in social housing to rent should be split across Bath and North East Somerset. Investment will be targeted in accordance with this split with the proviso that a shortage of sites suitable for residential development and the need to take advantage of opportunities for development as they arise may result in variations in this split.

Target 1b: Target geographical spread of investment in accordance with the profile set out in the chart overleaf.

6.2 Priority Two: Extra Care Housing

One of the improvement priorities in Bath and North East Somerset Council's draft Corporate Plan Framework for 2003-2007 is "Promoting the Independence of Older People". Extra care housing makes an important contribution to this improvement priority. It also provides a viable alternative to registered residential care and a route out of hospital for older people who wish to remain as independent as possible.

Two of the three new Community Resource Centres for older people include new extra care housing units with 30 planned for the Keynsham Centre and 30 for the Midsomer Norton Centre. This development of 60 new extra care flats will make an important contribution to increasing the overall supply of affordable housing in Bath and North East Somerset.

Target 2a: Develop 60 new extra care flats for older people by March 2007.

6.3 Priority Three: Temporary Accommodation

There are a number of reasons for adopting temporary accommodation for homeless households as a priority. These include: the local and central Government commitment to end the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families and young people; feedback from the consultation process, which highlighted the need for more temporary accommodation; bed and breakfast accommodation represents an expensive and ineffective way of meeting the Council's statutory obligations to homeless households; and bed and breakfast accommodation does not provide a stable environment for meeting the health, social care and educational needs of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Target 3a: Develop 20 new units of temporary social housing by March 2007.

6.4 Priority Four: Intermediate Housing

Not only is support for the intermediate housing market an important element in meeting local housing need, intermediate housing schemes support economic development and provision of essential services. A range of stakeholders emphasised the difficulty experienced by households earning an average wage or less in accessing even the lowest rung of the property ownership ladder. Furthermore, intermediate housing is a Government priority and new schemes are likely, therefore, to attract Government funding.

Target 4a: Deliver 20 units of intermediate housing for purchase or shared ownership by March 2007

6.5 Priority Five: Key Worker Housing

Key public services in Bath & North East Somerset are experiencing increasing difficulty in recruiting staff and, hence, in maintaining service delivery. There is no prospect that this will change without investment in key worker housing to rent and buy. Key workers themselves have, through the consultation process, set out the difficulties they have experienced in buying or renting a home on the open market. A specific, ring-fenced Government fund, the `Key Worker Challenge Fund' has been established and key worker housing schemes are, therefore, likely to attract Government funding.

Target 5a: Develop 40 units of key worker housing by March 2007

7 Key Issues

The consultation process highlighted key issues that impact on the availability of affordable housing in Bath and North East Somerset. In particular: the impact of the student population; the contribution that non-traditional dwellings can make to meeting housing need; the Homeseekers Policy and how this can best provide access to social rented housing; developing the private rented sector as an affordable housing options; and home energy efficiency. These issues are considered in detail below with links made to other Plans and Strategies where relevant and Actions for The Strategy set out where appropriate.

7.1 Impact of Student Population

The student population has a significant impact on the availability of private rented accommodation and on property prices as landlords purchase larger properties for let to students. This is a particular issue in Bath but it is likely that the impact ripples out to surrounding areas.

Both Bath Spa University and University of Bath have undertaken some work to forecast future need for student housing, how much of that need will be met through the provision of university accommodation, and how much of that need is likely to be met through private renting. However, given the impact that the student population has on the supply and cost of housing in Bath and North East Somerset this issue must be an area of focus and joint work between the Council and the Universities.

Planning Services are currently working with both Universities to find ways of meeting the housing needs of the student population. This work includes looking at the use of university land and property holdings for the provision of further on-campus student accommodation. There may be other ways that the Council can work with Universities to lessen the impact of the student population on housing demand and supply in Bath. The Local Strategic Partnership has offered to take a facilitative role on this issue as stated below.

`The LSP has a clear role to play in helping to achieve a more joined up approach to strategy and policy and if it can help in The Strategy then perhaps a more positive statement should be included here to try and facilitate this.' [LSP submission to Overview & Scrutiny]

Action 1:

Agree with the LSP their role in facilitating discussion and joint action on the issue of student housing by July 2004

7.2 Non-Traditional Dwellings

Overview & Scrutiny heard from a range of stakeholders the positive contribution that non-traditional dwellings can make to delivering affordable housing. Some of the comments received through the consultation process are set out below.

`Some of us may not want to live in a normal house. When you talk about low cost housing, it is cheaper to live in a barge than live in a house. So why don't you open up all that space'. [Focus Group, Social Housing Tenants]

`They need to provide more caravans.' [Focus Group, Social Housing Tenants]

`Where it is appropriate, and for whom it might be appropriate, we support the use of Park homes as a means by which to increase the supply of affordable homes'. [Conservative Group submission to Overview & Scrutiny]

`I should like to raise the subject of mobile homes as a possible way forward.... My wife and I live in a Park Home... Ours is an older Park Home with two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and large lounge and surrounding garden. Our ground rent, paid each month... is seventy-eight pounds.... Top of the range new Park Homes ... can cost around one hundred thousand pounds but second-hand units can be purchased for as little as thirty-six thousand pounds.' [Cllr Bryan Chalker submission to Overview & Scrutiny]

Temporary dwellings, such as barges and park or mobile homes are not eligible for public subsidy. However, they do provide an affordable housing option for households whose circumstances enable them to consider these less conventional homes. The Council's Housing Advice team does not currently suggest these non-traditional dwellings as an affordable housing option. However, this oversight can be addressed relatively easily.

Action 2:

Housing Advice team to develop an information pack on non-traditional dwellings such as park homes and barges by December 2004. This pack to include location of sites; approximate costs; and any legal issues such as rights and obligations.

7.3 Homeseekers Policy

Two issues, in particular, were highlighted as part of the consultation process and relate to the Homeseekers Policy, which determines the level of priority which is given to applicants on the Homeseekers Register. The Homeseekers Register is the main point of entry for social rented housing in Bath and North East Somerset.

Those issues were: the particular need for retained firefighters to have affordable housing within 5-minutes of the fire station; and weight or level of priority given in recognition of a local connection. A detailed proposal on how local connection could be given additional weight was submitted by the Conservative Group to Overview & Scrutiny Panel.

These are important points and must not be lost. However, these are points that are best considered as part of the review of the Homeseekers Policy, which is currently being undertaken. The Conservative Group submission and feedback from Avon Fire Service on the difficulties in recruiting retained fire fighters in certain areas have been passed to the Homeseekers Team and the Executive Member for Community Safety, Housing and Consumer Services so that they can be included in the Homeseekers Policy review.

7.4 Private Rented Accommodation

In the issues paper used as the basis for consultation on the key issues and priorities for The Strategy, development of the private rented sector as an affordable housing option, was cited as `an area that warrants further, detailed, exploration'. This "options appraisal" was proposed as a longer term priority in recognition of the fact that successful intervention in the private rented sector in Bath and North East Somerset `will be difficult and the level of impact on housing need uncertain'.

As a consequence of feedback received during the consultation process, development of the private rented sector has not been retained as a longer-term priority in The Strategy. Consultees expressed concern about the lack of security offered by private rented accommodation; the poor quality; the high cost and the difficulty experienced by households in receipt of housing benefit in accessing the private rented sector. The quotes below provide a flavour of this feedback.

`The one thing with private renting is that you never know when you are going to be moved on it offers no security, there is no sense of ownership'. [Focus Group, tenants of private rented accommodation]

`You go and look in the window of any estate agents, one of the first things that you will see is "no DSS"'. [Focus Group, Homeless Households]

`If you want to get a private place to rent you can't because you can't get a deposit'. [Focus Group, Homeless Households]

`£750 a month for a 2 bed flat. But even if my father offers to pay the first 6 months up front the agency were not interested at all because I am on benefits'. [Focus Group, Concealed Households]

`I was on fourteen grand and I had to pay over half of my income on rent. And the rent was considered average and the salary is a reasonable one'. [Focus Group, Concealed Households]

`My Granddaughter aged 28 years... is now living in a house shared with a friend... which is rented and she is finding it very difficult to live. She is in full time work... looking after young people who have learning difficulties.' [Resident submission to Overview & Scrutiny]

`I am at present living in a three storey privately rented property... I receive incapacity benefit and disability living allowance... and my tenancy is for a year... I am a single parent doing my best under difficult circumstances. I worry terribly about the security of my tenancy for the rest of my years (I am 55) and know that at some point I am going to have the upheaval of another house move'. [Resident submission to Overview & Scrutiny]

Although developing the private rented sector as an affordable housing option has not been adopted as a priority in The Strategy, improving access to the private rented sector does form an important part of the Action Plan to reduce the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless households. Relevant actions from this Plan are:

· Commission a pilot Homefinders Service to assist homeless households access private rented accommodation.

· Develop a new Deposit Bond Scheme aimed at providing temporary accommodation for people in priority need.

· Bid for SHIP (Single Housing Investment Pot) funding to increase the availability of private rented accommodation for homeless households... for implementation in April 2004.

7.5 Home Energy Efficiency

The affordability of housing can be significantly affected by the cost of heating, lighting and cooking. The cost of heating is a particular problem in older properties which were not designed and built to be energy efficient.

New affordable housing is built to very high energy efficient standards set by the Housing Corporation. They have to reach a "good" standard in the EcoHomes rating scheme. As a consequence, heating/lighting running costs are very economical.

Somer Community Housing Trust, the largest landlord in Bath and North East, are committed to upgrading Somer's housing stock, including heating and insulation improvements. This programme is well progressed. Somer are also taking advantage of new forms of funding from central Government initiatives (for example, Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) funding from the energy suppliers). This includes fuel substitution initiatives such as converting to mains gas for heating wherever possible and innovative proposals such as Combined Heat and Power, Communal Heating Schemes and possibly solar power/solar hot water.

Housing Services within Bath and North East Somerset Council actively promotes energy efficiency improvements to private rented accommodation through the Warmer Lets scheme, which has proved very successful.

In November 2002, the Bath and North East Somerset Council signed up to the West of England Sustainable Energy Strategy and Action Plan, which aims to help create well-being, social inclusion and economic development by tackling the problems of climate change and fuel poverty.

Many of the proposed actions/initiatives in The Strategy are underway. The following is an extract from Section 9 of the Strategy `Domestic Energy and Health Sector'

Many sustainable energy initiatives have already taken place in the domestic energy and health sector, particularly in social housing, and new initiatives are being planned. Energy issues are relevant to all residents irrespective of their income level. Of particular concern are those households on a fixed or low income, living in the private residential and social housing sectors, who suffer the poor health and financial burdens of fuel poverty. The implementation of measures to make homes more energy efficient (such as heating and insulation improvements) will help to reduce fuel poverty and health inequalities.

Proposed Actions

· Promote strong sustainable energy objectives in a sustainable housing policy for new build and eco-renovation through a partnership with planners, building control officers, developers, architects and contractors.

· Targeting particular house types with known "hard to heat" characteristics.

· Further partnership activity between local authorities and social housing landlords to improve existing and new build standards by focusing resources on energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements, while maximising grants from energy suppliers and the Government.

· Encourage fuel substitution, including the use of mains gas, combined heat and power, solar and geothermal sources.

Action 3:

Bath and North East Somerset Council will continue to work with social and private sector landlords to promote and improve home energy efficiency. The Council will also continue to play a key role in delivering the actions and initiatives set out in West of England Sustainable Energy Strategy and Action Plan.

8 Resourcing the Priorities

Investment from Bath and North East Somerset Council's overall capital resources can make an important contribution to funding the priorities set out above. However, in addition to the delivery of affordable housing the Council has other priorities and other calls on its capital resources. These include investment in improving school buildings and improving transport networks. As a consequence, it is necessary to resource the priorities set out in a number of different ways. These are considered in detail below, with targets for action where necessary and appropriate.

8.1 Planning Policy

The Local Plan

National Planning Guidance, Regional Planning Guidance for the South West 2001 and the Joint Replacement Structure Plan 2002 all set out the need for delivery of affordable housing through the Local Plan process. Bath and North East Somerset Council's Planning Services therefore have a key role both through its Planning Policy and Development Control functions in setting out a policy framework and in the delivery of affordable housing through the planning application process.

In Bath & North East Somerset affordable housing policies are already set out in a number of Local Plans. The most up to date of these is the emerging Bath & North East Somerset Local Plan including minerals & waste policies Revised Deposit Draft 2003 (B&NES LP). This Plan contains policies on provision of affordable housing based on the most up to date estimates of need and will eventually supersede all other Local Plans. The Joint Replacement Structure Plan also includes a policy on affordable housing.

Supplementary Planning Guidance on Affordable Housing

Whilst the policies of the Structure Plan, the Bath & North East Somerset Local Plan and other Local Plans form the basis for decision making in the provision of affordable homes on development sites there is a need for more detailed and comprehensive guidance setting out all aspects of the delivery of affordable housing through the development process. Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) explains more fully how these policies should be implemented and is aimed at helping the development industry, Registered Social Landlords and the public understand what is expected in the process of affordable housing provision. It therefore brings together the planning policy framework including design and accessibility issues together with delivery mechanisms including the planning application process, role of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and use of Planning Obligations. SPG can be amended far more quickly than Local Plan policies. As a consequence, any changes in the need for affordable housing identified in housing surveys carried out by the Council can be reflected reasonably quickly in changes to SPG.

New SPG was agreed, subject to some amendments, by the Council Executive in December 2003. The document is in the process of final revisions before being printed.

Crucially, the SPG agreed in December, sets new thresholds for the size of development where an element of affordable housing will be sought. These are urban development sites of 15 or more dwellings and developments of 10 or more dwellings in settlements with a population of 3,000 or less.

Release of Employment Land for Residential Use

The emerging policy framework in the Bath & North East Somerset Local Plan has addressed the issue of future employment land needs which has to be considered in the context of pressures for alternative higher value uses such as housing. The overarching objective of the Local Plan is to provide for "balanced communities" which as well as providing for adequate housing also must ensure that there is sufficient land for other uses including employment in a safe, attractive and accessible environment. This will help maintain and enhance the economic prospects of Bath and North East Somerset, provide local jobs and help reduce the need to travel.

The Plan's policies already recognise that a shrinking industrial sector does provide the opportunity to release land to other uses and there are significant releases of former industrial sites for mixed use developments. This includes the major regeneration sites at Western Riverside, Bath; the former Clarks/CIC Ralphs site at Rush Hill, Bath; and land at Lower Bristol Road, Bath. Generic policies also allow for the possibility of the release of other existing employment sites for other uses where this offers greater potential benefits to the community and the site is not required to meet economic development or local employment needs.

However, the Local Plan safeguards some core employment areas in Bath at Locksbrook Road, and Brassmill Lane in order to ensure that projected needs for employment land are met.

There are also many small employment sites spread throughout the District often located in residential areas. These provide local jobs and services and meet local markets. They already contribute to a mixed-use environment and help reduce the need to travel. Evidence also suggests that occupiers may not be able to afford the cost of alternative replacement accommodation and indeed there are few alternative sites available. In recent years such sites have been under continual pressure for development for housing and Local Plan policies therefore seek to safeguard them except where for environmental and other reasons sites are no longer suitable for employment uses.

Rural Exception Sites

Where there are genuine difficulties in securing an adequate supply of affordable housing to meet local needs in rural areas, Annex B to Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 and Circular 6/98 allows the release of small sites where housing will not normally be permitted.

The definition of affordable housing for rural exception sites is as follows:

"...that provided with subsidy, for people who are unable to resolve their housing needs in the private sector market because of local relationship between housing costs and income".

Planning Permission granted for such a scheme is subject to identified local need where the affordable housing will be reserved for local needs and through occupancy restrictions remain affordable in perpetuity. Through Village Appraisals, a number of villages have already been identified as being in need of affordable housing and exception sites have been highlighted. The Council prefers Registered Social Landlords to build and manage rural exception schemes to ensure affordable housing in perpetuity.

Exception sites are small scale developments and not subject to planning gain. Therefore they cannot be developed subsidy free and will continue to require public subsidy in the form of Social Housing Grant.

A number of rural exception sites have already been identified including those at Pensford, Stanton Drew, Hinton Charterhouse, Ubley and Chew Stoke. Other sites which are currently subject of consideration are at West Harptree, Farmborough and Batheaston.

Strategic Sites

There are opportunities to provide a substantial number of affordable homes on major brownfield sites that have been identified for regeneration. The largest of these is at Western Riverside which has been the subject of much consultation. Supplementary Planning Guidance for Western Riverside was approved in July 2003.

Over the next 10-15 years this could provide up to thirty per cent affordable housing as part of a mixed use development adjacent to the centre of Bath. Being a major strategic site it is likely to attract funding from the Housing Corporation and/or SWRDA (South West Regional Development Agency).

Other large mixed-use sites are identified in the Bath & North East Somerset Local Plan for development by 2011. Thirty per cent provision of affordable homes will be sought on these sites which include:

· MoD Foxhill, Bath (200 dwellings)

· Clarks/CIC Ralphs, Rush Hill, Bath (outline planning permission includes up to 130 dwellings)

· Southgate, Bath (planning permission includes 92 dwellings)

· Lower Bristol Road, Bath (about 75 dwellings)

· St. Martin's Hospital, Bath (planning permission subject to S.106 agreement includes 127 dwellings)

· Somerdale (Cadbury's), Keynsham (about 50 dwellings)

· Radstock Railway Land, Norton-Radstock (about 100 dwellings)

· Paulton Printing Works (outline planning permission subject to S.106 agreement for about 100 dwellings)

Conclusion

Effective use of planning policy clearly has an important part to play in delivery of affordable housing.

Action 4:

Planning Services and Housing Services will continue to work together with other relevant partners to maximise the delivery of affordable housing through planning policy.

8.2 Site Assembly

There is a shortage of sites suitable for development, particularly large scale development in the area. There are, however, patches of land and low density residential developments that might lend themselves to redevelopment. There is potential for assembling viable development sites from the land and/or property holdings of two or more parties. Successful site assembly will be dependent on an organisation or partnership taking a lead in seeking opportunities for site assembly and facilitating and brokering agreement between asset holding parties. There is potential for the Council to be such an organisation, however this could be an initiative on which Bath and North East Somerset Local Strategic Partnership takes a lead.

Target 6: Agree a "lead partner" for seeking and facilitating site assembly opportunities by July 2004

8.3 Use of Council Assets

The Council holds a substantial portfolio of existing buildings, brownfield and greenfield sites. These assets are used by the Council to support the delivery of its services, including contributing to the delivery of affordable housing. However, such a contribution is not without cost. Currently, Property Services are required to achieve maximum market value from the disposal of assets. Sale of property assets reduces the Council's asset base, which can reduce the Council's ability to borrow, and can also reduce income. It is, therefore, important to balance the benefits of using Council assets to deliver affordable housing against the impact on the Council's income and asset values. Also, in some instances the cost of bringing an empty or underused space back into use can outweigh the financial benefit.

Development and/or Disposal of Council Sites/Assets

There are parcels of land as well as buildings in the Council's ownership, which offer potential development/re-development opportunities. Issues surrounding development options include :

· Which sites are suitable for residential development?

· Would the development of those sites be financially viable? For some sites, the costs of development aspirations can exceed the likely development proceeds

· Would the drawing up of a `Development Brief' for the site facilitate or hinder development and/or disposal, and would it be a cost-effective action?

· Would gaining outline planning permission for the site be a practicable option or not?

· If there are options for the site other than realising the maximum financial value, those options need to be properly evaluated and the pros and cons of each accurately and openly estimated, in order to allow an informed decision to be taken

· Would the benefits of using the site towards delivering affordable housing stand up to scrutiny in terms of the Council's overall objectives?

· Could the site contribute to the assembly of a larger development site (ie a site has to be considered in relation to land around it)

Action 5:

In order to ensure that opportunities for both financial and other benefits are assessed from a cross-Council viewpoint, development proposals will be considered in relation to the Council's strategic objectives , via: a) the City Centre Co-ordination Group; and b) the Capital Strategy & Asset Management Group

Empty Properties

Property Services manages a large stock of commercial property, mainly in central Bath. Some of this has empty or underused space within it. Housing Services have been working with Property Services and in partnership with local Registered Social Landlords to regenerate this space, providing affordable housing, supported accommodation and temporary accommodation. This work will continue. However, much of the empty/underused space that was suitable for bringing back into use as residential accommodation has already been realised. The remaining space is more difficult and, therefore, more expensive to bring into use and the cost of doing so may outweigh the benefits.

Also, a building let in mixed-use (often residential, sometimes offices, over shops) is more management-intensive, and can be less attractive to both parties, and this will be reflected in a reduction in capital value of the asset. It is also important to note that much of this empty space is held under the leases of the commercial units below, and that the retailers deliberately keep them empty for business reasons. To negotiate a surrender of these upper floors to release them for housing may therefore incur a payment to the commercial tenant.

In addition, there are planning and listed buildings constraints. The former can impeded releasing "employment space" for residential, and the latter can seriously limit the scope and financial viability of a building conversion.

`They should look at the space above their own properties'. [Focus Group, Private Housing]

`I think the Council should start with converting their own properties'. [Focus Group, Homeless Households]

Action 6:

Property Services will continue to work with Housing Services, partner Registered Social Landlords and other potential partners to bring empty properties into use as affordable housing where this is possible and financially viable, by providing the information and advice needed to make an informed decision.

8.4 Empty Properties

In April 2003, according to Council Tax data, there were 204 properties in Bath & North East Somerset that had been empty for 6 months or longer. It isn't clear from this data what proportion of these properties are empty because they are on the market for sale and what proportion are unused and could be brought back into use.

Grant funding, specifically for bringing privately owned empty properties back into use ceased in August 2002. Funding for bringing private sector empty properties back into use, was reintroduced in line with the new Housing Renewal Policy on 26 August 2003. Assistance, in the form of interest-free loans, is available to those intending to rent out their property and offers a maximum £2,000 grant towards the repair and improvement of the property.

Some empty properties require major works to bring them back into use and £2,000 is insufficient financial assistance. However, even a £20,000 loan can be a cost effective way of providing affordable housing if that loan is tied to an agreement that the property be let to a homeless household or household in housing need at an affordable rent.

The 2003 Local Government Act enabled Bath and North East Somerset Council to reduce the Council Tax discount on second homes from 50% to anything up to a minimum of 10% and to reduce or remove the 50% discount for long term empty properties. The removal of the discount on second homes is estimated to yield an additional £200,000 a year revenue. Whilst the removal of the discount for long term empty properties would not generate any additional income locally, it should encourage owners to bring empty property back into use.

In December 2003, the Council Executive:

`RESOLVED that the Council Executive has considered its view concerning the application of the Local Government Act relating to Council Tax, and recommends that Council;

(1) Reduces the discount on Council Tax on second homes from 50% to 10% from 1 April 2004;

(2) Uses the proceeds of that change to support the provision of specific areas identified in the Corporate Plan, particularly and specifically, increasing the availability of affordable housing;

(3) Recommends the removal of the empty properties discount from 2004/05. This would reduce the discount of 50% to zero from 1 April 2004;'

Action 7a:

The Council will continue to provide financial assistance, in the form of loans, to bring empty properties back in to use.

Action 7b:

Any additional revenue generated by the proposed reduction in the discount on Council Tax on second homes will be used to support delivery of affordable housing.

8.5 Funding from the Single Housing Investment Pot for South West England

The Sustainable Communities Plan, issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 05 February 2003 provides clear guidance on their financial commitment in the South West.

A new South West Regional Board, in partnership with the Government Office South West, the Housing Corporation, the South West Regional Assembly, the South West Regional Development Agency, English Partnership and other relevant bodies in the region will provide a more strategic approach to housing issues.

The new partnership will play a key role in the delivery of policies set out in Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. Funding arrangements will reflect this new approach and from 2004/2005 onwards there will be a Single Housing Investment Pot (SHIP) for the South West, bringing together resources from the Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP) and the Housing Investment Programme (HIP).

Guidance suggests that this pot of money will be invested in achieving the priorities set out in the Communities Plan and in the South West Regional Housing Strategy.

Government is directing local authorities to take a more strategic approach when looking at housing need and we are being guided to work more closely with neighbouring authorities in the provision of affordable housing.

In order to achieve maximum allocation from the SHIP, Bath and North East Somerset Council will ensure that, as far as possible, it's priorities and ways of working with partners and neighbouring authorities, reflect those set out in the Communities Plan and SW Regional Housing Strategy. Also, that the Council and key local partnerships, in particular, the Local Strategic Partnership, will seek, wherever possible, to influence and guide the priorities set out in the SW Regional Housing Strategy for 2004 and future years.

Action 8a:

The Council will work with neighbouring authorities to identify and address cross-boundary housing issues at an operational, policy and strategic level.

Action 8b:

The Council and the LSP will seek, wherever possible, to influence and guide the priorities set out in the SW Regional Housing Strategy.

8.6 Bid for Specific Grants/Funds

The Government, from time to time, establishes a fund, which is ring-fenced to support the delivery of specific strategic objectives. In some cases, only named areas can submit bids on the basis that they have been identified as a "hot spot". Recent examples of these ring-fenced grants/funds, for which Bath and North East Somerset Council has submitted bids include:

· The South West Key Worker Challenge Fund;

· The Housing Renewal Fund for raising standards in private sector housing; and

· The Extra-Care Housing Fund, which provides capital funding for new extra-care housing schemes.

Action 9:

The Council will be proactive in seeking opportunities to bid for targeted funds (like those detailed above).

8.7 Allocation of Funding from the Council's Overall Capital Resources

Each year, as part of the financial planning process. The Council agrees a Capital Budget, which sets out how the Council's capital will be allocated over the forthcoming year. Capital is generally allocated in accordance with the Council's priorities and any statutory requirements with some monies "ring fenced" by Government for specific areas (for example, school improvement). The Council receives borrowing approvals (now known as "supported capital") for housing and grant in respect of Disabled Facilities Grants which in 2004/05 amount to £945,000 and £330,000 respectively - a total of £1,278,000.

Since the sale of the Council houses in 1999, 769 affordable homes have been lost through the Right to Buy (RTB). Under an agreement reached between the Council and Somer Community Housing Trust at the time of housing stock transfer most of the receipt from Right to Buy sales is "clawed back" by the Council. These capital receipts go into the Council's overall capital resources and are distributed in accordance with the Council's Corporate Plan priorities.

It is estimated that Bath and North East Somerset Council will receive approximately £8.9 million from RTB sales during 2003/04. This money will be received in the financial year 2004/05. 25% of this RTB receipt can be spent on any capital project/scheme, the remainder must be set aside for the Council's debt. Based on a total RTB receipt of £8.9 million (this is an estimated figure based on predicted RTB sales in 2003/04) and applying the 25% rule, £2.225 million of RTB receipts could be ring-fenced for new affordable housing.

The consultation process led by Overview & Scrutiny demonstrated overwhelming support for the ring-fencing of RTB receipts for the delivery of new affordable housing. The following quotes give a flavour of the views expressed.

`There was complete support for ring fencing of money from "Right to Buy" sales so that these funds would be used for the provision of future affordable housing'. [Submission to Overview & Scrutiny by Chew Magna Parish Council]

`What I want to know is what they do with the money they get from the sales; do they spend it on building new houses again?' [Focus Group, Concealed Households]

`If they replace the houses that people buy then it would work. But if the money is just flittered into nowhere then it just seems a waste of a house that was built for people like us to rent'. [Focus Group, Concealed Households]

`The Right to Buy thing has been a problem, because houses keep getting sold off and not replaced'. [Focus Group, Private Rented Housing]

At the Overview & Scrutiny Panel meeting on 15 January 2004, the Panel resolved to recommend that the Council ring-fence Right to Buy receipts for the delivery of new affordable housing.

The Corporate Plan Framework Document, approved by Council in November 2003, identified affordable housing as one of the Council's improvement priorities. The draft Corporate Plan 2003-2007 due to be considered by the Council Executive and full Council in February 2004 states, within the Financial Plan section:

`In considering allocations, it will be important to weigh up the relative impact and value for money of spending on each of the key priorities. There are significant capital spending needs on affordable housing, schools, transport as well as on major projects and other improvement priorities, and it is not possible to meet all needs fully. In achieving a balanced programme, the Plan does indicate a continuation, beyond 2004/05, of the level of annual investment in affordable housing currently being financed from the 1999 stock transfer receipt, at around £3M pa (total housing programme c£4M pa).'

Action 10:

Council to agree a housing capital investment programme of £4 million in 2004/05 with a commitment to seek to continue this level of investment during the life of the Corporate Plan.