Setting out the Local Housing Strategy
The approach
1.20 Having determined their overall housing strategy, local authorities need to articulate them in a way that is of value to those with an interest in them. A local authority must provide a copy of its LHS to any person who requests it.
1.21 To specify a rigid template for LHS would be unduly restrictive. There are however a few guiding principles authorities should observe in preparing their local housing strategy submissions.
Key principles
Documents should be short, sharp and focussed. Supporting information can be appended.
Supporting evidence (for example on the work done to identify the problems to be addressed, and the selection and evaluation of strategic objectives) should be referred to in the document as necessary and made available as supporting documentation, possibly in the form of stand alone appendices.
A broad picture of investment needs for existing and for new housing should be presented in the strategy. Further guidance will be issued in due course on the documentation required for resource bidding and resource allocation.
The document should follow a logical sequence from outlining problems to identifying solutions including:
Statement of the fundamental aims of the authority in general and housing terms, as identified through the community planning process;
Summary of the housing system in terms of analysis of how it functions and the problems to be addressed. This might be separated into two types of problem.
• Those that emerge from the general operation of the housing system over time, as communities change and develop, properties appreciate or depreciate in value and aspirations evolve. These constitute general problems facing the authority such as the need to upgrade stock generally for energy efficiency reasons; the need to meet the housing requirements of the homeless and so on;
• Those that represent complex local housing problems with an area specific focus. For example pressured areas, and areas requiring community regeneration;
Statement of the particular strategic objectives selected on the basis of this analysis. This should include enough detail for the authority to specify what success would look like in terms of these objectives, as the basis for monitoring and evaluating the strategy;
Statement of the strategic options selected to achieve the objectives, together with a short statement regarding options rejected and why;
Statement of how the authority intends to monitor, evaluate and publicise annual progress towards its strategic objectives. This might include annual targets the authority expects to achieve over the period of the plan, on the way to securing its objectives, and information on the indicators of change adopted.
Local authorities should provide their LHS in a variety of formats because of the range of audiences for them. Private house builders, RSLs, private lending institutions, central and local government departments, strategic partner organisations and service users will have an interest in LHS. Local authorities may want to consider, for example producing summaries, making documents accessible to people in different languages or to people with sensory impairment, or in electronic format or designed for internet users.
1.22 The CIH/LGA publication provides a helpful checklist.
