Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy providing a summary of the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey that was undertaken for the Council in 2023 and presenting the options available to the Council to address the key conclusions set out in the survey report.

RESOLVED that:

(1)       the contents of the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey are noted;

(2)       the overarching conclusion set out in the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey report that the condition of housing stock across Gloucester is generally good compared with the national picture, is noted;

(3)       it is noted that despite the positive feedback on housing conditions, there remain pockets of poor housing across the city that impact on the health and well-being of residents across all tenures;

(4)       the improvement of housing standards since the previous Private Sector Stock Condition Survey in 2011 is noted;

(5)       the following recommendations to address the key conclusions set out in the survey report are agreed:

a)         the Council will continue to target resources to maintain and improve housing standards and environmental issues in Barton and Tredworth;

b)         officers continue to work to bring empty homes back into use with a focus on empty dwellings in Kingsholm and Wotton, and Barton and Tredworth;

c)          the Planning Committee will determine whether there is a business case for an Article 4 Direction to be introduced to manage the conversion of existing dwellings to small HMOs in one or more areas of the city;

d)         the Council continues to support the Warm and Well Partnership to deliver energy efficiency advice and improvements to residents across Gloucester;

e)         officers explore opportunities to partner with an ethical low-cost loan organisation to deliver home repair and improvement loans (including Sharia compliant finance) to residents;

(6)       the high level of support and co-operation of households that agreed to participate in the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey is acknowledged.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy that provided a summary of the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey that was undertaken for the Council in 2023 and presented the options available to address the key conclusions set out in the survey report.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy reminded Members that this very comprehensive survey (Appendix 2) was the first since 2011 (Appendix 3) and would assist in forming housing strategy and policies over the coming years.  She thanked those residents who had allowed their homes to be assessed and made it clear that the survey would not have been possible without their cooperation.  The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy noted that the condition of the stock was found to be generally good in comparison to the national picture and significant improvements had been made since 2011.  She expressed gratitude to the Private Sector Housing Team for their tireless work and urged anyone aware of properties that might not meet the decent home standard to contact the Council with their concerns. 

The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources drew Members’ attention to the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Appendix 4) and advised that the proposed briefing to Councillors be timed so as not to overwhelm newly elected Members.  The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure stated that the survey would help residents get the decent, dry, and mould-free home that everyone deserves.  The Cabinet Member for Environment informed Members that he believed it to be a great report that would enable good work to improve homes.

RESOLVED that:

(1)       the contents of the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey are noted;

(2)       the overarching conclusion set out in the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey report that the condition of housing stock across Gloucester is generally good compared with the national picture, is noted;

(3)       it is noted that despite the positive feedback on housing conditions, there remain pockets of poor housing across the city that impact on the health and well-being of residents across all tenures;

(4)       the improvement of housing standards since the previous Private Sector Stock Condition Survey in 2011 is noted;

(5)       the following recommendations to address the key conclusions set out in the survey report are agreed:

a)         the Council will continue to target resources to maintain and improve housing standards and environmental issues in Barton and Tredworth;

b)         officers continue to work to bring empty homes back into use with a focus on empty dwellings in Kingsholm and Wotton, and Barton and Tredworth;

c)          the Planning Committee will determine whether there is a business case for an Article 4 Direction to be introduced to manage the conversion of existing dwellings to small HMOs in one or more areas of the city;

d)         the Council continues to support the Warm and Well Partnership to deliver energy efficiency advice and improvements to residents across Gloucester;

e)         officers explore opportunities to partner with an ethical low-cost loan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy providing a summary of the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey that was undertaken for the Council in 2023, and presenting the options available to the Council to address the key conclusions set out in the survey report.

107.1  The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy, Councillor S. Chambers, introduced the report and explained that it provided a wealth of information about the condition of the housing stock in Gloucester which would feed into the new Housing Strategy. She provided an overview of the headlines of the report.

107.2  The Chair asked for clarification as to what was meant by ethical low-cost loan organisations at 2.2(e). Councillor S. Chambers advised that these were loans which were compliant with the Islamic faith. In response to a follow-up query from Councillor Morgan, Councillor Wilson advised Members that interest on regular loans was not compatible with the Islamic faith and that ethical loans provided an alternative offering for the Muslim community.

107.3  The Chair referred to 3.12.9 in the report and noted that there was a perception that there was a high number of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in the city. He noted that the figures in the report had led to the decision not to pursue additional licenses and asked for further clarification on the rationale. The Housing Innovation Manager explained that the low HMO numbers identified in the survey had confirmed that there was no demonstratable need to pursue additional HMO licensing at the current time.

107.4  Councillor Hilton observed that the report was comprehensive but noted that he was disappointed that Members had not received a briefing or presentation as he felt it would have been helpful for Members to have an overview of the detailed report. He stated that there were high concentrations of HMOs in Barton and Tredworth, Kingsholm and Wotton and Westgate and expressed the view that there should be a thorough investigation into the pockets of the city with high HMO prevalence.

107.5  Councillor Hilton also raised concerns about the recommendation at 2.2(c) for the Planning Committee to determine whether there was a case for Article 4 Direction to manage conversion of houses into HMOs, noting that in his view this should be a matter to be considered by the new administration rather than Planning Committee. Councillor S. Chambers advised that the report covered the whole city, and that the survey results had not identified a need to direct staffing resource towards Article 4 Direction. She noted that the survey and report had followed the usual governance processes.

107.6    Councillor Pullen thanked Councillor S. Chambers and Officers for the detailed report, and agreed that a briefing would have been helpful, suggesting that this was a matter for the Scrutiny Group Leads to consider for future meetings. He referred to 3.7 in the report and the statement that 73 households had refused to participate in the survey and asked whether the Council could have applied any legal pressure to encourage participation. He also asserted that the Moreland ward had similar issues as the other wards identified in the report, and asked for further information as to the powers the Council had to intervene if serious issues were identified. The Housing Innovation Manager commented  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107