Aim
Darlington's Housing Strategy published in 2008 aims to provide decent homes at reasonable prices in places where people want to live and work.
To achieve this aim the Strategy outlines a clear approach that co-ordinates, guides and informs the work of all local organisations that have an impact on housing in Darlington.
Who should be interested in it?
In a general sense the Strategy should be of interest to anyone who lives or works in Darlington. This is because the actions that result from the Strategy will have positive impacts on the local economy as well as the health and safety of the local population.
A good way to show how the new Housing Strategy (which will last from 2008-2012 will have an impact on Darlington is to look at the impact of the previous Housing Strategy (which lasted from 2003-2007).
Some of the impacts of the last Housing Strategy
The Strategy
- Brought all Council-owned housing stock up to the Decent Homes Standard over three years before targeted to by central government. This has ensured a significant number of people in Darlington live in good quality housing.
- Led to the implementation of an Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document. This has created opportunities for people on lower incomes to rent or purchase newly built houses in the Darlington area.
- Reduced incidents of rough sleeping very close to zero and helped develop a Housing Options Service that consistently performs amongst the top 25% nationally.
- Supported the development of a Private Sector Investment Programme which delivered Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG's) to, in excess of 100 vulnerable customers, re-introduced 57 empty properties back into active use, and delivered energy efficiency improvements to 660 homes.
- Invested £55m in Council-owned housing stock (2003-08) in accordance with the Authorities Medium Term Financial Plan.
Aims of the 2008-12 Housing Strategy
- Invest significantly and on an annual basis (£10 million in 2008/09) to maintain the high quality standards in the Council Housing Stock.
- Ensure the housing and housing related support needs of older people in Darlington are properly met. This will be achieved in a number of ways including increasing the usage of the Lifeline Scheme and reviewing and revising the Council's resources (Sheltered schemes and floating support services) to ensure they are more closely matched to older people aspirations.
- Complete a Sub-Regional Private Sector Stock Condition Survey to identify and respond to gaps in the current local housing market.
- Complete research to identify areas in need of regeneration work to ensure the right type of housing and communities are provided for local people.
If you have any questions about Darlington's Housing Strategy 2008-12 please contact the Housing Renewal Section.
Darlington Housing Strategy 2008-12 - pdf document