Homelessness plans revealed (From Basingstoke Gazette)
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Homelessness plans revealed
5:30pm Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in News By Helen Morton
RESIDENTS are being urged to have their say on plans to combat an increasing risk of homelessness in Basingstoke and Deane.
The borough council has drawn up the plans to tackle the problem in the face of a decline in the number of new affordable homes, reductions in Government funding and national changes to the welfare and benefit programme.
The council plans to deliver 300 affordable homes per year and to use council land to help deliver the housing.
The plans also include negotiating with developers, reviewing how the council allocates housing, and bringing empty homes back into use.
Vulnerable people will be supported through a range of initiatives including improving and extending housing related support services.
Councillor Rob Golding, Cabinet member for housing and regeneration, said: “This strategy shapes how the council will continue to address housing need and homelessness in the borough.
“It is important we have the views of those people directly impacted to ensure we are moving in the right direction and providing them with the right support within the resources available to us. The demand for affordable housing outweighs the number of homes available, particularly during tough economic times.
“This strategy looks at new initiatives to create more homes while prioritising the council’s resources to meet residents’ needs.”
People in need of housing and those who have been housed by the borough council are particularly being encouraged to give their views.
To have your say, visit basingstoke.gov.uk/go/ housingconsultation, pick up a paper copy in the reception at the council offices in London Road or call 01256 844844.
The deadline for all responses is Monday, January 7.
Comments(6)
kronik
says...
6:03pm Wed 2 Jan 13
find a job and find a place to live.
thats what normal people do.
so be normal.
end of.
Mighty Antar
says...
6:31pm Wed 2 Jan 13
The _right_stuff
says...
9:14pm Wed 2 Jan 13
This is the first I've heard of it.
Can't the council give more time or publicise better ?
jonone
says...
12:08pm Mon 7 Jan 13
Sensory wrote:NIMBYs better not buy a new house anywhere then. I have affordable housing in my back yard (sort of - next door is the reality), it wasn't an ideal choice, but my circumstances and the plot availability meant we were stuck with it. As a result, I really wish we didn't have affordable housing in such close proximity, from the masses and masses of uncontrolled kids screaming around in summer, to the drunken shouting that went on for hours after midnight on New Year's Eve, to cigarette butts scattered to the four winds, to drinking on their doorsteps... Basically behaviours that are NOT reflected in ANY privately owned property. Affordable housing should be dealt with as it is being in other parts of Basingstoke, e.g. Popley Islands, Oakridge Village etc. i.e. kept separate from decent hard working people who pay their way.
Well, if you're going to ask residents what they think, may I offer what the singular reply will be. "Not in my backyard." In every single case. Quite offputting that only 300 homes will be affordable every year too (indeed, *very* affordable if they're free). This would therefore mean that the rest will be unaffordable, and we all know that unaffordable homes were the reason behind the credit crunch. What a bunch of muppets.
Max Headroom
says...
9:37am Wed 9 Jan 13
jonone wrote:I work hard, I'm in an above-average pay job, I don't smoke, I rarely drink alcohol but the only sort of house me and my partner will be able to afford when we finally get on the property ladder will be one of those "affordable" homes. Of course that's unless we want to put off having a family until we're in our mid-30s due to the extortionate deposits required nowadays. Don't tar everyone with the same brush.
Sensory wrote:NIMBYs better not buy a new house anywhere then. I have affordable housing in my back yard (sort of - next door is the reality), it wasn't an ideal choice, but my circumstances and the plot availability meant we were stuck with it. As a result, I really wish we didn't have affordable housing in such close proximity, from the masses and masses of uncontrolled kids screaming around in summer, to the drunken shouting that went on for hours after midnight on New Year's Eve, to cigarette butts scattered to the four winds, to drinking on their doorsteps... Basically behaviours that are NOT reflected in ANY privately owned property. Affordable housing should be dealt with as it is being in other parts of Basingstoke, e.g. Popley Islands, Oakridge Village etc. i.e. kept separate from decent hard working people who pay their way.
Well, if you're going to ask residents what they think, may I offer what the singular reply will be. "Not in my backyard." In every single case. Quite offputting that only 300 homes will be affordable every year too (indeed, *very* affordable if they're free). This would therefore mean that the rest will be unaffordable, and we all know that unaffordable homes were the reason behind the credit crunch. What a bunch of muppets.
Sensory says...
5:49pm Wed 2 Jan 13
"Not in my backyard." In every single case.
Quite offputting that only 300 homes will be affordable every year too (indeed, *very* affordable if they're free). This would therefore mean that the rest will be unaffordable, and we all know that unaffordable homes were the reason behind the credit crunch.
What a bunch of muppets.