Housing Strategy 2018 to 2023

Business

• Enterprise
• Productivity
• Jobs

Place

• Strategic Employment Locations
• Housing
• Town Centres
• Transport and Infrastructure
• Environment

People

• Skills
• Employment
• Inequality, deprivation and poverty

Our objectives

We have developed three strategic objectives for our Housing Strategy based the priority issues we need to focus on which are outlined in this strategy. We will organise our activity and our work programmes around these priorities, which form the basis of our discussions with partners on priorities and directly support the Council Plan policy principles and Economic Growth Plan priorities.

1. Supporting housing growth and increasing choice
2. Stronger communities
3. Meeting housing needs and supporting vulnerable people

National, regional and local context

At a national level the Government is introducing a raft of new legislation to positively intervene in the delivery of housing and to reform the welfare system. The most significant legislative changes that influence our policies and plans to meet the needs of our local housing market include the Housing and Planning Act 2016, Welfare reform and Work Act 2016 and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

The NPPF was first introduced in 2012 and brought together a range of planning policy and guidance into one single document. The NPPF sets out national planning policies for England and how these should be applied locally and is a material consideration when the Council determines planning applications. A fundamental element of the NPPF is to boost the supply of housing and ensure that housing delivery meets local housing needs and demands. The Government recently consulted on a number of revisions to the NPPF which include some policies relating to housing. The Council will consider the implication of the finalised revised NPPF to ensure that our key plans and strategies align with national policy.

At a regional level this strategy has been developed in the context of the role of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Local Enterprise Partnership and Northern Powerhouse which aim to boost the regional economy. It is essential that Stockton-on-Tees continues to contribute towards economic growth ambitions in the Tees Valley by working closely with other Local Authorities, Homes England and other regional partners.

Locally, the Housing Strategy operates alongside the Homelessness Prevention Strategy 2018-23, Economic Growth Plan 2017-20 and supports planning policies and priorities in the Council's emerging Local Plan.

The objectives, priorities and actions identified within this strategy have been developed giving due regard to other key national, regional and local policies and evidence from supporting documents as outlined below. 

National

• Housing Act 2004
• Homelessness Reduction Act 2016
• Housing and Planning Act 2016
• Laying the Foundations: A Housing Strategy for England 2011
• Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016
• National Planning Policy Framework 2012
• Care Act 2014
• English Housing Survey 2015-16
• Cities and Local Government
• Devolution Act 2016
• Industrial Strategy 2017

Regional

• Tees Valley Combined Authority

Local

• Council Plan 2017 - 2020
• The Council's Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP)
• Affordable Warmth Strategy 2017
• Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2012 - 2018
• Adult Market Position Statement
• Homeless Reduction Strategy 2018-23
• Community Safety Plan 2017- 2020
• Children's Strategy 2017
• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
• Stockton-on-Tees Draft Local Plan
• Economic Strategy 2017 - 2032 & Economic Growth Plan 2017 - 2020
• Stockton Domestic Abuse Strategy 2017-22

Other Supporting Evidence

• Demographics
• Local Economic Assessment
• Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment
• Objectively Assessed Need (OAN) 2016
• Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) 2016
• Environmental and Infrastructure Capacity

Housing in Stockton - on - Tees

Stockton-on-Tees is a Borough of wide contrasts made up of a mixture of busy town centres, urban residential areas and picturesque villages. The Borough covers approximately 20,000 Hectares (equal to 200 square kilometres or 49.4 thousand football pitches). Larger, detached properties are more desirable and the pattern of house prices reflects the pattern of property types in the Borough; with the more rural areas to the West and South of the Borough and Ingleby Barwick having the most detached properties and the highest house prices. According to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD 2015), the Borough is ranked 88th most deprived out of the 326 Local Authorities in England. Whilst 28% of the population live within the top 20% of most deprived areas of England, 28% live in the 20% least deprived areas.