Housing Strategy

The Council’s focus has primarily been on working with partners to develop strategy and policy and deliver services at the local level set within a nationally and regionally determined framework.  This will change with the abolition of regional bodies and increased emphasis on decision making at a local level and with the need to drive down the cost of public services.

Increasingly the Council is exploring opportunities to work with new and existing partners across a wider geographical basis and in particular across the county of Norfolk.   North Norfolk District Council is therefore developing a new Housing Strategy for the area which will identify priorities for the investment of what will be very scarce resources over the coming years.

The previous Government’s preference was for Housing and Homelessness Strategies to be incorporated into local Sustainable Community Strategies. The North Norfolk Sustainable Community Strategy and the Council’s Corporate Plan are both due to be reviewed in the autumn with adoption in the summer of 2011 following the local elections in May 2011. 

It is therefore timely to be developing a new Housing Strategy alongside the review of these key strategic documents in order that the importance of good quality and affordable housing in improving the quality of life enjoyed by residents of North Norfolk can be articulated and considered alongside other issues impacting upon the district.  

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The Council is keen to ensure that the Housing Strategy reflects the contributions of all stakeholders, acknowledging that it cannot deliver improved housing outcomes alone. We are therefore particularly keen to know what contribution other organisations are able to make to improving housing outcomes for residents of North Norfolk.

A Housing Strategy Discussion Document has therefore been developed through dialogue with a range of stakeholders in the public, private and voluntary sectors to identify issues, gaps in delivery and existing and possible interventions.  Its purpose is to explain how the Council might work with its partners to contribute effectively to meeting the housing and housing related needs and aspirations of residents of North Norfolk over the next five years.

There have been some significant policy announcements in recent months with the Localism Bill and the consultation on the future of social housing.  The Housing Strategy needs to reflect these once the Council has had an opportunity to consult with key stakeholders.  The Council will therefore be delaying production of the Housing Strategy and Action Plan until after the local elections in May 2011.  There will be no significant changes to the way in which the Council delivers its housing services in the meantime.

You can download the Housing Strategy Discussion Document and Appendices below:

If you wish to discuss the Housing Strategy Discussion Document, the process in moving towards a Housing Strategy and Action Plan, or your organisation's contribution to delivering improved housing outcomes for residents of North Norfolk, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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