Despite members of the community who see themselves as defenders of the countryside warning about the absence of support for vulnerable people, budgetary challenges, and no commitment to periodic reviews, councillors from Cheshire West and Chester Council greenlight a decade-long Ssrategy on housing targeted at combating homelessness while providing affordable and environmentally friendly housing.
The council voted in favour of a 10-year Housing Strategy
There is no statutory requirement for a council to put in place a Housing Strategy. However, on 12 March 2025 Cheshire West and Cheshire Council proposed, seconded, and voted in favour of the Housing Strategy for the Borough. It will cover the decade from 2025 to 2035 and when Councillor Louise Gittens announced the time-period the Housing Strategy will be in position for she uttered the words ‘good grief’. The motion was unanimously carried by all the councillors present and eligible to vote at the Council meeting.
Councillor Christine Warner announced the Strategy claiming that “the Housing Strategy sets out the Council’s vision and priorities for housing in the borough for the next ten years”. She said, ‘the Housing Strategy also outlines the key issues affecting the local housing market and what the Council intends to do to help overcome these challenges.”
The Housing Strategy vision
The Housing Strategy sets out three strategic priorities:
- Support that enables residents access to the right home and to live well. This is interpreted to mean the need to prevent homelessness, and offer affordable accommodation that is well maintained. The Council aims to ‘keep people safe and well in their homes’;
- To improve the health of residents. Homes need to be fit for living in and ready for the future; This refers to ensuring homes are good quality, free from damp, mould and other hazards, and well insulated and environmentally friendly. Neighbourhoods need to have quality green spaces and good transport links, access to work and education which are also crucially important to good health. Energy-efficient homes that can withstand the changing climate are also highlighted;
- ‘Affordable homes of all tenures across the borough.’ This means having the right mix of homes to meet the needs of current and residents, whether they rent or buy. The Local Authority emphasised the need for more affordable homes to address local housing challenges and homelessness.
Mrs Warner highlighted the vision for the Strategy as ensuring “we have the right homes in the right place” by “enabling a good quality range of affordable housing and support to meet the needs of residents.”
Councillor Warner then highlighted that the Local Authority ‘face(s) significant challenges’ including:
- affordability
- homelessness
- caring for looked-after children and young people
- an aging population
- mitigating climate change; and
- ensuring working age-young adults and families can afford to live and work in the Borough to support economic growth’.
She added that the ‘Strategy seeks to address these challenges making sure everyone can access good quality, safe, and affordable housing in thriving neighbourhoods’.
Countryside charity raised concerns
It has not been plain sailing for the Housing Strategy. The Countryside Charity in Cheshire expressed concern that changes to housing targets based on a percentage increase in existing housing stock could negatively impact the countryside. They argued that these figures did not reflect projected growth rates in population or households in Cheshire West and Chester, leading to ‘hugely inflated housing-need figures.’ On 22 April 2025 the Local Authority responded to my email confirming that they do not have any targets for people from vulnerable groups of people, such as:
- looked-after children,;
- the elderly; or
- people with additional needs.
The council left themselves open to criticism because they have questions to answer on how it will make sure there is housing equity. It is unexpected for the Local Authority to publish a Housing Strategy that is due to be in place for a decade and not to have any targets which can be objectively measured against by independent auditors.
The Local Authority are also facing problems from a budget perspective as they do not clarify how they are planning to deal with future challenges for the benefit of community residents. The council also does not appear to have set a budget for this decade-long Housing Strategy or set out its financial plans for the initiative. This raises questions about how the plan can be achieved.
The Authority applies a ‘Housing Allocation Policy which does not include quotas for vulnerable groups, but prioritises people in its allocation process and places them in the highest priority.’ The council also claim to ‘offer many types of financial and housing support to vulnerable people living in the area including those:
- with low household incomes;
- with disabilitie;, and
- at risk of homelessness.
The council also admitted they have promised to monitor the progress of the Housing Strategy, but it falls short of any promise to carry out a periodic public review of the initiative.
Housing influences lives
Councillors observed that ‘housing affects every area of peoples’ lives’. ‘Affordable homes can:
- support work;
- education; and
- leisure opportunities.
The new strategy recognises the differing housing needs of residents which may change throughout their lives, covering everything from social housing and renting, to provision for people with additional needs.
Months of consultations resulted in this strategy
This strategy has been produced with feedback from key partners including health services, social care, housing associations, developers, charities, and Cheshire Police. The public were invited to comment on the draft strategy during a 3-month consultation that closed in November 2024. Councillor Warner appreciated the feedback, observing that it influenced the Strategy. She highlighted that ‘the council cannot do everything ourselves’. She emphasised the importance of engaging with consultants to make sure that residents’ voices are incorporated into the strategy.’
Councillor Nathan Pardoe underlined the ‘importance of the strategy for every community in Cheshire West’ and agreed that it would help build strong communities with the right mix of homes, green spaces and neighbourhoods, making them thriving and vibrant places to live.’ He also approved the strategy’s focus on ‘equality, fairness, and inclusion, and its support for social housing.’
Prior to the vote, Councillor Louise Gittins confirmed she had read the Housing Strategy, calling it a ‘good document that highlighted progress in housing initiatives, including bringing homes back into use and supporting people through the Disabled Facilities Grant.’ She lauded the consultation as thorough and noted that feedback had been incorporated into the strategy.
But there is criticism
Despite her praise, Councillor Gittens was critical of the strategy for not ‘giving enough credit’ to the partnership work with other agencies. She underlined that the consultation was not just an exercise in ‘box ticking’, but an essential part of shaping the final strategy. Despite this mild criticism, she described the strategy as a “great document” that the local authority could proudly support.
However, housing strategies often set unrealistic targets due to a shortage of:
- land ;
- economic downturns; and
- reliance on financial resources from the Central Government which are subject to change’.
Some success stories
Despite potential criticisms, Cheshire West and Cheshire Council set realistic targets. The Housing Strategy claimed the local authority ‘exceeded its target of bringing 780 empty homes back into use, rejuvenating 1012 homes over the last four years – nearly 30% above expectations.’
In recent years residents of Council-owned properties have reported issues like flooding, damp, appliance failures. However, the Housing Strategy noted an improvement in ‘the percentage of private rented properties with serious damp and mould problems’. With the local council’s intervention, the percentage improved from a ‘target of 80%’ to 88%.’
Influential voices in the local authority think that this strategy is right for the area. Time will tell how it develops.
