“We need to work in partnership to address housing challenges”

20 Nov 2024

West Suffolk’s Cabinet member for Housing is calling on partner organisations to work with the council to help deliver a new strategy that will benefit communities.

Earlier this year, West Suffolk Council asked residents, town and parish councils, housing associations, local NHS trusts, care providers and developers to give their views on the various challenges faced around housing as well as some of the possible actions that the council could take to try to address them.

That led to the creation of a new Housing, Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy which was approved and adopted by a meeting of the Council last night.

The new strategy aims to:

• help more people to better be able to afford a decent and secure home
• support residents by improving living conditions which will benefit their health and wellbeing and reduce the impact on health and social care
• reduce homelessness and rough sleeping.

But Cllr Richard O’Driscoll says the council doesn’t have the power to meet all of the challenges alone.

“There are huge challenges that we face in West Suffolk around new and existing housing. A lack of sufficient affordable housing to meet demand is one such challenge as is the delivery of homes that are genuinely affordable and that enhance existing communities," he said.

“As the housing authority we have seen first-hand how a lack of affordable housing has contributed to the rising numbers of households we are working with to prevent or help out of homelessness including those who are rough sleeping.

“We also know from data that we need to build on the work we are already doing to improve living conditions in the private rented sector so as to prevent people living in cold, damp homes or homes that are in poor disrepair. That also includes our work as part of Warm Homes Suffolk to combat fuel poverty through targeted work so that residents in low-income households that have low energy efficiency, can heat their homes for less. 

“But while we believe it is right that we work to address all of these things for the residents that we serve, West Suffolk Council doesn’t have the power, nor the funding to solve all these issues by itself.

“That’s why I will be meeting with representatives of housing associations, developers, local health and care providers in the new year to discuss how we work collaboratively to best address these many challenges and make things better not just for the residents we serve today, but for their children, grandchildren and the West Suffolk of the future.”

You can read more on the strategy on our website.

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