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.
Delivering change - Our
housing strategy - complete document (129Kb pdf file)
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