Cabinet Member post

Responsibilities

·       Brick by Brick

·       Building Control

·       Capital Delivery (Housing/Public Realm) – with the Cabinet Member for Transport & Environment

·       Council Homes - Planned Maintenance & Improvement

·       Council Homes – Responsive Repairs

·       Development Management

·       District Centres – Regeneration & Development – with the Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs

·       Gateway Services – Strategic Overview

·       Growth zone – with the Cabinet Members for Economy & Jobs, Transport & Environment

·       Housing Allocations - Choice based lettings

·       Housing Strategy & Commissioning

·       HRA

·       Metropolitan Centre – Development & Regeneration – with the Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs

·       Place Plans

·       Private Sector Housing Standards & Enforcement

·       Spatial Planning

·       Temporary Accommodation

·       Tenancy & Caretaking Services

·       The Local Plan

Projects and Programmes

Brick by Brick

·       A development company set up by the Council to provide new affordable shared ownership and private far sale properties to accelerate the delivery of new homes and improve the housing stock in Croydon. Operating as a private, independent company, with the Council acting as sole shareholder. Profits are to be recycled to fund council activities.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Review

·       In response to the provisions of the Housing and Planning Act and the Welfare reform and Work Act the Council will continue with a thorough review of its HRA in order to meet the financial requirements imposed by the extended right to buy, the sale of high value council homes and the 1% reduction social housing rents ensuring safe and decent social homes.

The Local Plan

·       Croydon’s Local Plan is people focused planning aimed at strengthening local communities. It will enable new homes for a growing population and affordable homes for local people. The Plan will promote jobs and encouraging growth while creating a healthy place to live and will also look at conserving what’s best about Croydon and protect and enhance green and open spaces.

Temporary Accommodation

·       Actively work with residents to reduce the numbers requiring temporary accommodation and to source high quality selfcontained emergency, temporary and permanent accommodation for those in need.

Gateway Services

·       A Croydon Council initiative that has helped thousands of people at risk of homelessness. Croydon’s Gateway division has combined council departments covering housing, benefits, debt management and social care assessment – to support families affected by Government welfare reforms like the benefit cap and universal credit. Gateway works by identifying households most at risk of homelessness, providing them with a dedicated adviser and then helping them to better manage their finances, maximise their income and widen their career options through extra training.

District Centre Regeneration

·       Bringing forward community lead regeneration in our district centres including business development and public realm improvements in Coulsdon, New Addington, Purley, South Norwood and Thornton Heath.

Landlord Licensing Scheme

·       As part of its drive to make Croydon a better place to rent and to drive up housing standards the Council has designated the borough a private rented property licence area. This means that owners of every privately rented home in the borough must apply to the council for a Croydon private rented property licence.

Growth Zone

·       Croydon has secured a new growth zone deal which will allow the Council to retain half of new town centre business rates as well as £7m of Treasury funding to help underpin the delivery of a £350m infrastructure programme comprising 39 key projects including transport, schools and community infrastructure, regeneration and public realm improvements, and support for small businesses. The programme is set to deliver huge economic benefits to residents and businesses, including the creation of 23,500 new jobs and 8,000 homes.

Policy Developments

·       The Housing and Planning Act 2016 contains provisions on new homes (including starter homes), landlords and property agents, abandoned premises, social housing (including extending the Right to Buy to housing association tenants; sale of local authority assets; ‘pay-to-stay’; secure tenancies), planning, compulsory purchase, and public land (duty to dispose).

·       Neighbourhood Planning & Infrastructure Bill will restrict the use of pre-commencement planning conditions, strengthen the role of neighbourhood planning, and reform the compulsory purchase order process to make it clearer, fairer and faster.

·       The Mayor of London’s manifesto outlines tackling housing crisis in the capital as one of the priorities and includes number of measures.