A new strategy, which outlines a vision for housing in the borough up to 2027, was agreed at a full meeting of the council on Wednesday (14 July).
Colchester’s Housing Strategy sets out key priorities and measures to ensure all residents have access to safe and affordable homes and can thrive within healthy and sustainable communities.
The strategy connects several key ambitions providing an overarching framework of housing policies and plans that recognise the importance of a safe and affordable home in ensuring healthy lives and equal access to enhanced life opportunities.
The council has collaborated extensively with a range of partner organisations, including Colchester Borough Homes, to ensure the new strategy is based on firm evidence and its four key priorities are deliverable.
Over the lifetime of the strategy the deliver plan will focus on increasing the supply of affordable homes; support people to maintain their homes and build sustainable communities; reduce carbon emissions from homes and improve housing standards, and prevent homelessness, in collaboration with partners, through a separate but interlinked Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.
Cllr Julie Young, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, said: “Our new housing strategy sets out the vision and provides a set of a comprehensive measures to support the provision of new and affordable housing across Colchester. Good quality homes are crucial to people's health and quality of life, and we have, as a council and along with our partners, a key role to play in achieving it.
“Our new strategy not only addresses ways to increase supply for the 3000 people already on the housing register, but also how we can support people to keep their tenancy. Our new strategy is not only about the quality of housing and ways to make them more energy efficient to help lower bills, but how we can better use our resources to help build and strengthen the communities that exist around that housing.”
Cllr Andrea Luxford Vaughan Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure, added: “It is no secret there is a desperate need for more affordable homes in the borough. Colchester’s Housing Strategy provides the framework to drive delivery of those homes and provide the housing security our residents urgently need.
“We recognise the scale of the challenge facing us and that working collaboratively will be key to the success of this strategy. Our strategy sets out strong commitments that will improve our existing council homes and will deliver more environmentally friendly homes that our residents rightly deserve.”
Page last reviewed: 15 July 2022