Decisions Made

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a)         approves the relaunch of the previously named Retail Improvement Grant Scheme as the Shop Front and High Street Improvement Programme and the assessment process as set out in section 5.1 of this report.

b)         allocates £70,000 of high street improvement funding from the government to the relaunched Shop Front and High Street Improvement Programme and to combine that funding with £58,000 of residual monies from the West Sussex Business Rates Pool to establish the Shop Front and High Street Improvement Programme.

c)         delegates authority to the Head of Economy and Planning, in consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Member, to review and make minor amendments to the Shop Front and High Street improvement Programme as further changes to legislation are introduced or following any review. (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation).

d)         requests that the Head of Governance, People & Performance to amend the Council’s Constitution to reflect any minor changes arising from the decision.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To strengthen the ability for the relaunched Shop Front and High Street Improvement Programme to support the growth of independent retailers and small businesses in Crawley by improving the attractiveness and relevance of the programme to the needs of those businesses.

To enable the relaunched Shop Front and High Street Improvement Programme to strengthen the visual appearance of Crawley’s neighbourhood parades and parts of Crawley town centre in order to enhance footfall and economic vibrancy.

RESOLVED

That Full Council be recommended to:

a)         approve a Premium of 100% for dwellings which are unoccupied and substantially unfurnished (Empty Homes Premium) after 1 year, instead of two years from 1 April 2025;

b)         approve the application of a premium for dwellings Occupied Periodically (Second Homes) charged at 100% (twice the current Council Tax Amount) from 1 April 2025;

c)         delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Finance (Section 151 Officer) to implement this Council’s policy on premiums in line with statute and any subsequent guidance issued by the Secretary of State following the outcome of the consultation (Appendix A of report FIN/648) which recommends exceptions to the second homes premium in certain circumstances.

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Council declared a housing emergency at the Full Council meeting on 21 February 2024.  The aim of the introducing a council tax premium on long term empty homes and second homes is to reduce the number of empty homes within the Borough and to encourage the use of premises as main residences by local residents rather than second homes.

Purpose:
Amend the existing main and temporary sub-quota in the Housing Allocations Scheme to increase the number of allocations to households on the housing register either at risk of homelessness or owed the main housing duty in order to impact the use and cost of temporary accommodation.

Background:
The Council is experiencing significant pressures on its homelessness services, resulting in elevated use of and longer stays in nightly paid temporary accommodation. This is putting the Councils financial position at risk and is a corporate priority to address. Longer stays in temporary accommodation also put unnecessary strain on households who have no other choice but to remain there while waiting for an offer of housing.

On 21st February 2024 Crawley Borough Council declared a housing emergency, advising that the demand for temporary and settled accommodation was consistently higher than the supply, and that the financial impact was unsustainable for the Council.

Section 5.1.1 of the Housing Allocation Scheme (the Scheme) sets out the main quota that describes how available social housing is to be allocated by banding/applicant type. This section of the Scheme advises that the proportion split of the quota will be reviewed on an annual basis and that if the review concludes that a different proportion split may better achieve the aim of balancing the competing needs of those needing housing (such as homeless households, those in reasonable preference groups), it may be amended for the coming year by the Head of Strategic Housing following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing.

Section 5.1.2 of the Housing Allocation Scheme is the temporary sub-quota that can be enacted for up to six-months at a time. The temporary sub-quota in 5.1.2 is an example and has not been amended to date. Continued increase in demand on the service, a decline in the supply of properties available, and a mismatch of properties to households increasingly means that the quota is limited in its ability to be effective. It is proposed that the temporary sub-quota already set out in the Scheme be updated under delegated authority to better address the pressures on the service.

In addition, other minor amendments to the scheme are required so that care leavers with a strong local connection to West Sussex can qualify to join the housing register and that direct lets can be made to homeless households residing in emergency temporary accommodation when the urgent need arises when owed the “relief” duty under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended).

Following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and in accordance with delegation 7.e of the Divisions Sub-Delegation Scheme, the Head of Strategic Housing approved:
- amendments to the main and temporary sub-quotas and confirmed that they shall take effect on 18/03/2024, including the enactment of the revised temporary sub-quota in section 5.1.2 of the existing Housing Allocation Scheme for a period of up to 6 months
- that care leavers be granted exemption to the local connection criteria under section 2.4.2.1 of the Housing Allocation Scheme
- that section 6 of the Housing Allocation Scheme be amended to allow direct lets to households owed a relief duty residing in temporary accommodation.