Housing strategy 2025-2030

Housing Strategy 2025-2030

The Housing Strategy sets out Cherwell District Council’s plans for the Housing Service for the period 2025-2030.

The previous Housing Strategy (2019-24) brought about the following key achievements:

• 1344 new affordable homes delivered in partnership with Registered Providers
• Delivery of 32 properties of affordable housing directly by the Council through the BUILD! programme. Totalling 270 over the last decade.
• Partnered with Hook Norton Community Land Trust to develop 12 Passivhaus homes at Hook Norton on previously underutilised Council land.
• Provided 57 landlord grants and 45 homeowner grants to provide improvements and essential repairs to properties within the district.
• Accessing the Local Authority Housing Fund Rounds 1 and 2 to bring 56 units of accommodation back into use within Cherwell to assist in rehousing those in resettlement schemes. This is being delivered in partnership with South Oxfordshire Housing Association and Sanctuary. This includes the redevelopment of Town Centre House, Banbury, which the Council now owns.
• Delivering a refurbishment and reconfiguration programme for Town Centre House, Banbury. Bringing 1, 2 and 4 bedroom properties back into use for refugees.
• 2949 lets through the housing register
• Completed 1005 homelessness preventions between 2019 and 2024.
• Launched a Tenancy Relations drop in service, where landlords and tenants in the private sector can go for advice
• Launched a new Tenants’ Charter, making a number of commitments to our tenants but also taking a lead role in what we expect from other landlords, social and private
• Reviewing and launching a new Housing Allocations Scheme.
• Launching a new Tenancy Strategy
• Responded to nearly 3000 enquiries from landlords and tenants regarding housing, landlord or tenant issues. Serving 859 notices, identifying 225 category 1 hazards, issuing 40 financial penalties and prosecuting 2 landlords for illegal evictions.
• Produced a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for the Cherwell District. The new strategy outlines the approach to tackling homelessness within the district between 2024-29.
• Completed 923 disabled facilities adaptations and 1756 minor works and small repairs jobs.
• In partnership with the other Oxfordshire Councils, establishing the Alliance joint commissioning contract for rough sleeping support services, including prevention, supported accommodation and outreach. This County, District and City partnership is one of the only models in the Country where services are provided using a cross-Council tier and district line model.
• Establishing the Single Homelessness Team, providing specialised homelessness support and response to rough sleepers and those at risk of rough sleeping
• Establishing a new 28 unit supported accommodation scheme at Mawle Court in partnership with Sanctuary and Homeless Oxfordshire, providing accommodation for single homeless people in Cherwell.
• Accessing the governments RSAP funding following the COVID pandemic, providing supported accommodation services for rough sleepers at Oxford House, Bicester.
• Creating a Money Advice service contract in partnership with Citizens’ Advice, assisting households in financial hardship. Typically returning £30 in direct financial gains to Cherwell residents for every £1 invested by Cherwell District Council.
• Increasing the portfolio of self-contained temporary accommodation, leading to more suitable units of temporary accommodation for homeless people.
• Establishing the Resettlement Team within Wellbeing and Housing. Providing advice, support and accommodation services to those in Cherwell who are fleeing conflict and seeking asylum in the UK.
• Partnering with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to bring accommodation within their portfolio back into use for the purposes of assisting those within the asylum pathway. These are providing more housing into the affordable housing system that is ready for occupation.
• Continued to support the Graven Hill Development Company, who manage the Graven Hill site, which the Council purchased from the Ministry of Defence, which is the largest self-build development in the Country

Cherwell District Council’s new Housing Strategy brings together in a single document the various elements that comprise the Council’s strategic housing function. The purpose of the housing strategy is to identify and horizon scan for the key housing issues and challenges that face or could be faced within the next five years. To overcome or mitigate these challenges, high level strategic priorities and objectives are set across the broad range of strategic housing functions that the Council delivers.

As a local authority, we want to be ambitious and deliver great outcomes for residents of the district. Whilst delivering these ambitions, we need to ensure that this strategy is financially sustainable and thus we will only achieve our outcomes by working in partnership with others.

Our vision for the new Housing Strategy is: For all Cherwell residents to live in a safe, secure, quality and affordable home that is suitable for their needs and fit for the future.

In order to achieve this vision, we have identified 3 strategic priorities. These are

• Prioritise the delivery of homes that people can afford and that are suitable for the needs of the community
• Improving the existing condition of properties within Cherwell. Ensuring high property standards and properties that are fit for the future, working towards net zero.
• Promoting health and wellbeing through housing, tackling homelessness, improving support. Helping to create sustainable communities.