Foreword
Foreword
It is with great pleasure that I present the new Housing Strategy for the Cherwell district.
Cherwell is a great place to live. Our district provides a great mix of beautiful countryside and peaceful rural life with urban settlements that provide a strong local economy with growing employment opportunities and connectivity to other parts of the Country.
Housing is of paramount importance to our quality of life, health, wellbeing and overall opportunities and outcomes. We recognise and are acutely aware of the challenges that people face currently and in the years ahead. Cost of living pressures have caused financial stress for many households. Improving the quality of housing, to reduce negative health impacts and the move towards net zero are also challenges that the sector faces.
The Housing Strategy, which is one of our key strategic documents, aims to identify and plan to address these challenges. It is therefore important that the Housing Strategy focuses its priorities on working towards a position where people are living in safe, sustainable homes that are suitable for their needs.
The strategy acknowledges that there are big overarching issues, such as homelessness and the affordability and supply of housing, that the Council cannot resolve alone. But we are committed to working in partnership with our partners and across our other Council Portfolios to make an important contribution and taking the right steps to put the Council and the local area on the right path.
I want to thank all our partners and colleagues and everyone that contributed to the Housing Strategy and look forward to your continuing engagement over the next 5 years as we look to deliver on the objectives that we have set out.
Councillor Nick Cotter, Portfolio Holder – Housing