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Housing strategy - Delivering change

Summary

The housing strategy for 2001 to 2006 identifies the key priorities which the Council will address. It sets out coherent action across all housing tenures to change local housing markets to ensure they meet the borough’s future housing requirements.

The overarching principle of the housing service is that everyone has the right to a suitable, affordable, warm and dry home.

As a strategic housing authority we seek to maintain across the borough a reasonable range and choice of appropriate, quality housing in all tenures for residents irrespective of their age, race, gender or financial means.

The borough’s strengths

Rochdale has many strengths. Several of these are specific to the borough and will ensure that investment in the borough is effective and sustainable:

  • There are strong communities in the different Townships and a well-developed voluntary sector, with active, involved local people supporting each other.
  • There is a local community partnership structure of Township Committees and themed Working Parties are well established in all four of the townships.
  • There is an established and rapidly growing ethnic minority population in Rochdale Township itself. Its current housing needs and expected community growth means that there will be a continuing demand for housing.
The borough’s needs

The economy of the borough was centred on traditional and now declining industries. This is now rapidly changing but has left the following legacy:

  • Many older houses, built at the turn of the century, need major improvements or replacement. There are over 20,000 private sector properties in disrepair.
  • There are concentrations of deprivation in the older private housing largely occupied by ethnic minority communities and on some social housing estates.
  • Unemployment in the borough is the third highest in Greater Manchester at 4.2%. Many of the jobs that are available are low skilled and low paid.
  • The health of the population, particularly the ethnic minority population, is significantly worse than the national or even the regional average. The all causes Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR) for the borough is 118 and in the worst wards is 142, 143 and 165.
  • Educational attainment amongst young people in the borough is low, as 7.6% leave school with no qualifications at all compared to a national average of 6.6%.
  • Rochdale is one of the most deprived local authority areas as measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation. It ranks between the 13th and 42nd most deprived nationally (out of 354) using the Government’s 6 summary measures of multiple deprivation.

In addition, there are many older people (16.24% of the borough’s current population are of pensionable age), very high levels of need for Community Care provision and one of the highest proportions of single mothers in the region.

The Council’s approach

Rochdale Council, like the borough as a whole, has a co-operative culture. The long-standing political commitment to working together locally in townships has removed barriers between services that exist elsewhere. It is also building close links to other agencies such as the Police and Primary Care Trusts.

Corporately, the Council is responding to 7 key challenges through cross-cutting initiatives and effective working structures. The challenges the Council has set itself are to:

  • Regenerate the borough
  • Create a cleaner, safer and healthier environment
  • Raise educational achievement
  • Promote equality
  • Combat poverty and social exclusion
  • Strengthen and renew local democracy through community partnership
  • Provide and improve services

Housing has a key role in each of them. Resources are targeted and results judged against the measurable specific targets underpinning each broad challenge. Successes in tackling any one of these challenges can benefit work on the others.

Our strategy

The following are the aims of our Housing Strategy:

  • To respond to the findings of the Housing Need and Demand Study and ensure that the local housing market is properly meeting local needs and demands.
  • To eliminate housing and related disadvantage within Rochdale’s ethnic minority community by 2011.
  • To ensure that all social housing is of a ‘Decent Standard’ by 2010 and that Council housing is brought up to the ‘decent standard plus’ agreed with our tenants
  • To facilitate investment and intervene in the private housing market to improve, protect and sustain local neighbourhoods
  • To provide opportunity and choice of housing with appropriate support by working in partnership with other agencies and responding to the wishes of people needing support
  • To take an active role and contribute fully to the Local Strategic Partnership and Community Planning process
  • To deliver Township sensitive housing solutions linked to Township Regeneration strategies.
  • To establish housing regeneration vehicles across the borough that tackle the problems of disrepair and environmental decline