Building homes,
sustaining jobs and lives
Cornwall’s investment plan for
housing
2012-2016
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 1
Forward
By Councillor Kaczmarek
As Cornwall Councillors we well know the severe difficulties faced by local people
in buying or renting their own home. In previous decades, housing in Cornwall
was more affordable and we didn’t need to build the large number of affordable
homes seen in other areas. Now we are paying the price. Only 11% of our homes
are rented through the Council or housing associations, far fewer than many other
areas of the country.
Cornwall has found it difficult to respond to the dramatic house price rises of
recent years. Between 1996 and 2008 average house prices quadrupled in
Cornwall from £ 53,700 to £ 210,300, far out of the reach of those on average
incomes. In parts of Cornwall we now have London house prices and Cornish
wages. We are also compared with London for the number of people who have no
home. We are second only to Westminster for rough sleeping and recently this
has even led to deaths on our local streets.
We know housing need is high – we have 22,000 households registered looking
for a home. 6,000 of these are in very high housing need. They are not all without
a roof. Some need a wheelchair home, others are over crowded or living in
unheated homes in disrepair. Others simply can’t live and work in their own
community. Our communities are under strain.
In the face of these challenges, the Council has already achieved a great deal. In
2010-11, we housed 4,000 families in housing need. We have delivered the first
56 council homes for rent, invested in homeless prevention and secured £100
million from Government for new homes. We have upgraded 3 gypsy and traveller
sites and secured funding for 30 more pitches to tackle unauthorised sites.
Since 2009 the Council has performed well in delivering new affordable housing,
delivering over 2,000 new homes by the end of this year. But we are now seeing
an 81% cut in funding from Government for new homes and we have lost over £2
million funding for private sector renewal. The private sector and the planning
system cannot make good this funding gap on its own in such an uncertain
housing market. Housing is a priority for Cornwall Council and our housing
strategy commits us to delivering new housing to rent and buy, tackling empty
homes and ensuring vulnerable groups such as older people or the homeless have
a warm safe home.
I am therefore very proud to set out this investment plan for housing. It is an
ambitious plan. It proposes investing £56 million over the next 4 years which
includes attracting £12 million from Government, in addition there is the £19
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 2
million allocation to the HCA for Cornwall. Wherever possible investment will be
made on a self financing basis with an estimated £17million to be recovered. The
programme will also direct existing investment to deliver the Council’s ambition £12 million of funding will come from existing programmes. Ensuring that the
Council makes the best use of existing assets, utilises revolving loan funds not
grants and levers funding from other programmes means that the total level of
investment is high and the programme is affordable – with revenue costs over the
next 4 years of only £2million.
Investing now will also give a powerful boost to our economy. Direct investment
into repairs and construction is one of the few ways in which we can give a real
boost to local businesses which are on their knees. We can tackle much through
this investment; building homes sustaining jobs and sustaining lives.
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 3
Introduction
Access to a good quality home at an affordable price is a basic human need.
Consultation with our local communities and the needs data we collect emphasise
the importance of housing and the very real issues faced by many people in
Cornwall:
Changes in the wider economy and extreme pressure on national budgets have
exacerbated the challenges for local authorities like Cornwall. Housing market
instability and cuts to the national affordable housing programme have reduced
the overall supply of housing. Declines in mortgage lending have limited prospects
and mobility for first time buyers. Decreasing housing benefit payments,
increasing unemployment and falls in household income all mean that Cornwall’s
communities are less able to afford the homes they need. Housing markets are
under severe strain. All our local measures of housing need demonstrate this 22,7281 households on the Council’s housing register, increases in homeless
presentations2 and rough sleeping3, making it difficult to maintain temporary
accommodation targets4.
Strengthening our existing plans
Making housing work in Cornwall is not just about providing new homes of the
right size and type. We also need to ensure we make the very best use of all our
housing resources with existing homes which are fit for purpose and limiting the
waste of empty homes.
The Council has powers and duties to improve the 50% of private sector housing
which fails decent homes standard and tackle 3,7005 long term empty properties.
We need to improve quality and better regulate parts of the private rented sector
which has a more important role to play than ever before.
The Council, which identifies housing as one of its main priorities, already has a
number of plans in place for responding to the housing challenge. The Council’s
Housing Strategy approved by the Council in January 2010, provides the
framework for our housing ambitions and long term strategic housing priorities to:
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Deliver affordable housing – we will maximise the delivery of affordable homes
to address housing need
Find smarter housing solutions – we will ensure that people have a safe,
secure home they can call their own
Achieve decent homes – we will increase the availability and supply of housing
by making better use of our existing housing stock
1
Cornwall Homechoice Register 17.01.12
P1E Returns
3
Cornwall Rough Sleeper Count
4
Cornwall Temporary Accommodation Plan and P1E/HSSA Returns
http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=23117
5
Cornwall Empty Property Strategy, June 2010 http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=2830
2
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 4
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Create sustainable communities – we will ensure that housing activities
contribute to improving Cornwall’s economic prospects
Responding to a changing national agenda
But there have been fundamental changes in national housing, economic and
welfare policy which require us to develop a different response to our housing
challenges. In addition, transformational changes in the way the Council plans to
deliver and commission services, including the establishment of Cornwall
Housing Ltd, the Council’s newly established Arms Length Management
Organisation, also require us to refresh our housing strategy and related plans.
This refresh is due to be completed during 2012. It will scale our ambition,
provide a focus on innovation and frame a new relationship between the Council,
Cornwall Housing Ltd and our other key partners.
It will also provide the Council’s policy response to changes in national policy
including the national planning framework, the localism act and the Government’s
national housing strategy.
This investment plan provides an immediate response to some of the Council’s
housing needs. The plan also recognises that resources have to be identified and
options are also put forward to fund the ambitious short term programme.
The investment proposals will be included in the budget proposals for 2012-13,
due to be taken to full Council in February 2012. If the plan is approved through
the budget process, it will provide the Council with the resources and ambition for
a radical review of the housing strategy.
The right building blocks for transformational change
The plan reflects an ambition to deliver but to do so in a period of constraint by
making our investments smart.
This means that a baseline level of funds will maintain existing levels of capital
investment, but there will be a greater focus on using small amounts of
investment to deliver transformation.
Investment will provide pump priming to allow breathing space so that
transformational change can happen. This plan proposes a series of focused and
realistic policy options to meet the most pressing housing needs. But most
importantly it sets out the ambition and recognises that part of the housing
challenge is to build capacity now to enable us to make the step change in
delivery and investment we need. This can then be reflected in new ambitious
housing strategy for 2012.
A central proposition is for the Council to develop new innovative ways of
investing which create value which can be recycled into future schemes, rather
than giving grant. Given market conditions, there is an appetite amongst private
sector partners to develop these ideas.
There is considerable scope for us to innovate in housing and to raise our game
on a level with the best performing larger authorities. In many cases, this will
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 5
require further debate and making choices, based upon the Council’s appetite for
risk and ability to invest.
In many areas such as housing development, there are no shortcuts. To deliver a
more ambitious programme, the Council needs to focus on assembling the skills,
resources and building blocks now for longer term strategic growth.
Cornwall Council is well placed to understand local housing challenges and support
initiatives and policies which can address them. In some cases we have the
strength and powers to lead this change. But we always seek to work in
partnership with others and enable them to deliver solutions where we can.
Unless we can take more radical steps to address the housing challenges, Cornwall
will not succeed economically, our smaller communities will be harder to sustain
and local people will see their prospects of finding a decent affordable home
diminish. This is why we need a strategy for change.
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 6
Summary of proposed actions
Cornwall Council will establish a baseline four year housing
investment programme and will
Set a minimum target to deliver 4,000 homes with 3,000
of them as affordable homes to rent in the next 4 years
This does not meet the totality of Cornwall's needs but in the current economic
climate without national investment or market recovery it remains ambitious. This
programme requires Homes and Community Agency (HCA) investment but the
Council will more than match the HCA investment committed for Cornwall. The
Council will also launch its own commissioning programme for housing
associations and developers. It will commission homes either from a consortia of
local providers or a single strategic partner and develop a Cornish housing
standard of development to further reduce costs.
Homes will be delivered in the areas which need them most with a focus on
delivery in the 20 key towns where job growth remains essential.
Apart from the HCA programme, the remainder of the rented homes would be
delivered by championing innovative approaches to delivery. The Council will
invest an initial package of sites on the Government’s buy now pay later model.
This will not only deliver affordable homes but will generate capital receipts on a
deferred basis.
The short to medium term outputs signal a move towards a more self financing
model where the Council uses loan funding and cash flows development in order
to recover value later. The Council will
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use the Government’s buy now pay later response and defer land receipts
on specific sites which will then be reinvested to acquire additional sites;
set up a new delivery arrangement with a private sector partner;
deliver homes in rural villages using cross subsidy on mixed tenure
schemes without the need for public subsidy; and
propose the use of headroom within the Housing Revenue Account to fund a
programme of Council house building.
By ensuring that the majority of delivery is of rented homes in key towns we will
be better placed to meet those in the highest levels of need on the housing
register.
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 7
Set a minimum target to deliver 1,000 affordable homes
to buy
The Council will progress its own pioneering equity loan model using planning gain
from developers to provide assistance for first time buyers, alongside the
Government’s deposit scheme and a programme of shared ownership through
housing associations.
Set up a new delivery partnership with the private sector
and use the value of Council land assets to make the
scheme self-financing in the medium term.
This proposes bringing forward two packages of sites which would deliver 1,000
homes for Cornwall in key Cornish towns, including a minimum of 400 affordable
homes. The Council could use the Homes and Communities Agency framework
and expertise to procure a partner which ensures procurement could be
completed as early as late Summer / Autumn 2012.
The scheme requires the Council to invest land into the scheme and defer
receiving payment until the development is complete. Receipts would then be ring
fenced and re-invested back into the scheme to buy additional sites. Working
capital of up to £5.5 million over the 4 year programme would also be needed
prior to land receipts being returned.
Seek support for an HRA new build programme to deliver
community solutions and social rented homes
The HRA business plan needs approval from the Council and the ALMO board and
there will be competing priorities for the use of any headroom in HRA borrowing.
However there is scope to support a modest programme of 200 homes over the
programme. This would focus on ensuring additional right to buy homes were
replaced in local communities, would make use of existing HRA land and infill sites
and help remodel poor quality stock, especially for older people. Homes would be
built using a new Cornish housing standard developed through the ALMO.
Support local solutions by encouraging Community Land
Trusts
Cornwall has delivered half of all land trust homes nationally. An innovative
revolving loan fund from the Council has helped achieve this and is already in
place. But at only £1 million can only help a few schemes at any one time.
Expanding the fund to £4 million would require the Council to cash flow
developments but interest is charged to ensure the scheme is revenue neutral to
the Council. These bodies can hold affordable housing and other community
assets and are likely to become more prominent in the wake of neighbourhood
plans and localism. This will deliver up to 200 homes over the programme.
Lobbying for Legislative and Regulatory Changes
Cornwall has suffered disproportionately from reductions in the Homes and
Communities Agency budget with a drastic programme reduction from £100
million to £19 million. The Council will continue to lobby for the investment needs
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 8
of rural and dispersed areas. We will seek a dialogue with the HCA to understand
how we can secure a better deal for Cornwall with an ambitious investment
programme which more than matches HCA investment. Given public resources are
so scarce, Cornwall wants a greater say in how funds are allocated locally to meet
our needs.
Meeting the housing needs of older and disabled people
We need to work harder to understand the housing implications of Cornwall’s
ageing population. By 2031, one in four people in Cornwall will be aged 65 and
over. In many cases older people will remain in their own homes but will we need
to ensure that our housing offer is able to respond to demographic challenges.
The current disabled facilities grants (DFG) process is costly and inefficient. We
will complete a fundamental review of the current system and develop innovative
approaches to investment and service delivery. But transitional funding for
disabled facilities grants needs to be maintained during this work. We will invest in
the DFG system to ensure it continues to meet demand in the short term whilst
we focus on transforming the system. We will bring forward early annual
Government allocations and Council funding of £10.2 million and make use of the
new allocation of additional funds recently announced by the government.
A high proportion of social rented homes (3,310) are provided for older people
and some are not fit for purpose. There is an opportunity for the new ALMO to
work with partner housing associations to release less popular housing for other
needs groups or remodel and demolish schemes in order to rebuild and replace.
This strategy makes provision for an initial prototype scheme for decommissioning
sheltered housing.
Cornwall has two extra care housing schemes; more work is needed through the
sector reviews and housing needs updates to understand the demand for extra
care throughout Cornwall. We will work on developing a Cornwall extra care
model which works across our dispersed communities.
Accelerate the HRA Asset Management Plan
We will use the HRA self financing head room to bring forward some parts of the
30 year asset management plan. This new asset plan will need to be approved by
the Council but could include bringing forward the double glazing programme for
the former Caradon area, providing new doors to homes, addressing the problems
of poor quality Cornish Units and Mundic properties, and addressing thermal
efficiency of our HRA stock.
Meeting the housing needs of vulnerable groups
Many groups live in insecure and temporary housing including those living in park
homes. We will prioritise Green Cornwall funding to improve the insulation of
up to 100 park homes where the owners, including many older people, are living
in fuel poverty. We will also lobby government to ensure that Park Homes have
access to green deal initiatives and develop plans to improve a further 150 Park
Homes.
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 9
Cornwall has high numbers of rough sleepers and insufficient pitches for gypsies
and traveller communities. Without adequate provision for these groups, it is
difficult to tackle wider social and environmental issues related to their poor
housing. The Council will fund up to 30 new bed spaces and put in place related
services for Cornwall which will enable underlying problems causing their
homelessness to be tackled. The schemes will require revenue support which is
recognised in the investment plan.
A bid to the HCA for funding for 30 gypsy and traveller pitches has been
successful. The Council will provide working capital to enable to pitches to be
delivered in advance of government funds being claimed.
Tackling the waste of empty homes
Although Cornwall has lower
numbers of vacant dwellings overall than the national average, it has above
average numbers of long term empty properties(1.68% compared to 1.5 %), that
is 3,700 long term empty homes. This is a wasteful use of housing resources.
Initially we will direct at least £1 million towards a number of schemes which
provide loan assistance, target the worst properties and support area based
initiatives. Priorities will be dwellings which could be brought into use as
affordable housing through new powers such as empty dwelling management
orders. We will stretch our investment by bidding to the HCA empty homes
programme.
Making our investment SMART
This is an ambitious investment programme in the current economic climate
but the investment proposed can be made affordable by adopting a more
commercial approach to our plans and reducing the revenue elements.

We aim to secure match funding from the HCA
 At least £19 million for new homes
 £0.80 million for empty homes
 £1.5 million for homeless services
 £1.35million for older persons extra care

Wherever possible funding is provided as loan finance or working
capital:
 Resources for the community land trust will be self financing as they
will pay the Council’s actual borrowing costs
 Working capital for the council land initiative will be repaid with
deferred receipts for our land which will be returned as and when
developments are delivered.
 Investment in private houses will be provided as loans not grants

We will get better value from existing housing resources
 £1.98 million has already been allocated to empty homes, enabling
infrastructure for housing delivery and affordable housing
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 10
 £0.50 million has already been secured from existing Green Cornwall
programmes
 We will make use of the investment for new homes already allocated
 We will maximise planning gain and developer contributions
 We will propose the use of headroom to borrow in the Housing
Revenue Account to deliver new homes in addition to repairs and
modernisation work

Where possible we will use innovation and transformation to secure
better value for money
 Work has begun on transforming the disabled facilities grant service
to reduce costs significantly thus providing support to more people
 We will work with the private sector and develop a new Cornwall
housing standard to drive down the cost of development
 We will use our planning and property expertise to reduce the risk
(and therefore the cost) of delivering our own land
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document 11
Building a programme for change
Building new homes for Cornwall
Proposal
4,000 homes for
Cornwall in four
years
Ambition
We will exceed Government’s current
investment in housing associations Cornwall to
deliver rented homes
Though a pro active approach to planning, we
will maximise £19,567,000 of HCA investment
in Cornwall
We will use pro active planning policies to
deliver homes in towns and rural areas through
our innovative cross subsidy policy
We will use Council land to deliver mixed
tenure housing and return land receipts to the
Council
We will support HRA borrowing to launch a
council housing programme
We will support local people to find their own
housing solutions through increasing a
revolving loan fund for Community Land Trusts
TOTAL
Impact
1,000 new homes
1,415 homes
910 homes
1,000 new homes
including 400
affordable homes
200 council homes
up to 200 homes in
rural areas
4,125 homes
Supporting older and disabled people
Proposal
£10.2 million
investment for
adaptations
400 homes built to
wheel chair and
lifetime homes
standards
60 new extra care
homes for older
people
Ambition
We will reform the way disabled adaptations
are delivered so people’s homes and lives are
transformed
We will increase the number of new homes
which are build for older and disabled people
Impact
1,800 older and
disabled people’s
homes made safe
400 homes built to
lifetime homes
We will invest in a pilot to remodel sheltered
housing to create high quality older persons
housing
A 60 unit older
persons / extra care
scheme will be
delivered
Safe and secure homes
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document
12
Proposal
Tacking disrepair
and empty
properties
Ambition
We will fund £2 million of investment to bring
empty homes back into use and match a bid to
the HCA to secure funding.
Impact
520 empty homes
brought back into
use
We will grant private loans to home owners to
tackle disrepair
We will set up a “last resort” compulsory
purchase revolving fund to buy at least 2 empty
homes a year as a last resort
We will use £0.5 million from the Green
Cornwall programme to help tackle fuel poverty
for up to 100 of the poorest households in park
homes
We will use the headroom in the HRA to
implement the Cornish housing standard across
the Council’s housing stock
70 loans given to
private owners
2 of the worst
homes each year
At least 80 of the
poorest park home
owners helped
10,000 homes
brought up to the
Cornish housing
standard
Investment in our homes
Proposal
Reducing street
homelessness
Ambition
We will invest up to £3 million capital, together
with new revenue for homeless project. This will
create short term bed spaces and support
services to reduce rough sleeping
Reducing
unauthorised
gypsy and
traveller sites
We will support the recent successful gypsy and
traveller site funding by providing sites and
working capital until the HCA funds can be
claimed
KEY OUTCOMES
4245 new homes
700 existing homes improved
2,200 homes adapted for older and disabled people
09/03/2016 final full Council approved document
Impact
services and
bedspaces for 30
street homeless
50% reduction in
rough sleepers
30 additional
authorised pitches
13
PRIORITY 1: Building new homes
The Challenge
Cornwall doesn’t yet have the homes it needs. All the indicators show that we are
not delivering enough homes of the right type in the right place to provide for our
communities:
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Over the next five years it is estimated that homes could be delivered at an
annual rate of 2,090 but this wouldn’t meet even the lowest Core Strategy
option. There are very few towns in Cornwall with a five year land supply;
Based on sites with planning permission we could only deliver enough
homes to meet the 1996 Structure Plan but the projected number of
households is now estimated to be 42% higher
The rising number of households on the housing register is a further
indicator of housing pressure. There are now 22,000 households registered,
90% are living in Cornwall
Approximately 1,000 new applications are received each month
6,000 are in the highest levels of housing need
We are playing catch up - Cornwall has one of the lowest levels of
affordable rented housing in the country
The 28,400 affordable rented homes in Cornwall, represent only 11% of all
homes, compared with 13% in the South West and 18% nationally and
Of these, only 1,601 rented homes were let by social landlords in 2010/11.6
The Ambition
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The Council will support the delivery of 48,000 new homes over the
next 20 years
This will include 10,000 affordable homes
The majority of affordable homes will be delivered in towns, which
are the areas of highest housing need to support economic growth
We will support rural areas to meet community housing need
through neighbourhood plans, community land trusts and our
innovative cross subsidy policy
Fixing it now
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6
With current pressures (a faltering housing market, HCA cuts, reduced
output from the planning system) we cannot achieve our ambitious delivery
target of a 1,000 affordable homes annually without additional
investment and innovation.
We need to maintain a programme of 750 rented homes in the short term
to meet those in most need.
We need to put in place the building blocks to secure new delivery routes
which return value to the Council in the longer term. This includes
developing a private sector partnership, ring fencing capital receipts from
Cornwall Homechoice Monitoring Report
14
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the sale of land assets from the PFI programme to re-invest and fund the
acquisition of land in the key settlements because we do not have enough
land in the right place.
Much of our ambition will only be achieved through working with others,
such as the private sector and housing associations to deliver new homes.
But we also want to support the new ALMO, Cornwall Housing Ltd to deliver
a new build programme which meets the specific need for social rented
homes on existing housing estates.
Resourcing the short term plan
There are 4 elements to financing a short term plan:
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Providing short term funding into the development and acquisition of housing
sites equivalent to the value of estimated capital receipts that will be
received from the redeveloped land which will be ring fenced and re-invested
to deliver future schemes. £5.5 million working capital is required, spread
over 5 years to purchase the second tranche of sites, which will result in
additional annual short term revenue costs of £0.3 million per annum.
Modest base capital programme for affordable housing over the period to
support developers and housing associations. This would be maintained at
existing levels, that is £3.8m annually. £9 million of commitments and
funding is already in place for 2012-13 so this would make provision from
2013-14 onwards. This would result in a total new investment package over
the period 2012/13 to 2015/16 of £20.4 million. This will represent an
investment larger than the current HCA programme of £19.5 million. This
will be commissioned as a programme and will not require HCA standards so
costs can be driven down.
Scope for Council House building. The HRA business plan is subject to the
formal budget setting process and approval by the Council. But there is an
opportunity to deliver a new build programme of up to 50 homes a year to
meet community needs.
Additional loan finance provided to the Cornwall community land trust. This
is a one off contribution which is self financing in the medium and longer
term, because interest is charged at the Council’s long term borrowing rate.
Rented supply
Housing association activity and HCA investment
Cornwall Council commissioning programme
Council / private sector delivery partnership
Cross subsidy schemes in rural areas
Section 106 on and off site
Carrick Housing HRA infill (3 year programme)
Ownership Supply
First buy allocations
Intermediate sale
Shared ownership
Community land trusts
15
Annual
266
188
100
75
100
50
779
4 year
1,065
700
400
300
400
200
3,065
87
75
53
50
350
300
210
200
TOTAL
265
1,060
1056
4,125
Longer term aspirations
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Deliver 10,000 affordable homes over ten years
Develop further delivery partnerships to recycle land receipts
Introduce a new housing association delivery partner with greater
strategic capacity
Seek a greater voice and influence over HCA investment and
regeneration to return investment decisions to Cornwall
Support an investment programme of 200 homes through Cornwall
Housing which would focus on identifying opportunities from HRA
infill sites and replacing homes lost through the right to buy
Develop a new Cornwall housing standard, using partner knowledge
to reduce the average build cost of affordable homes.
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Innovation - options for the future
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Long term borrowing, perhaps through a bond issue could finance
significant development and generate a return.
Private renting housing remains in high demand. The Council could
develop its own high quality private rented housing to generate a long
term sustainable return on investment to increase the housing stock,
making use of the ALMO balance sheet or vehicles such as REITs.
The Council could create a separate delivery vehicle for affordable housing
to fund new development and cover operational costs. Equivalent models
include the Birmingham Metropolitan Housing Trust.
16
PRIORITY 2: Supporting older and
disabled people
The Challenge
The needs of older people are changing. No longer content to just accept the
services they are given – they want choice and control over services they use But
commissioners need to ensure that these options are realistic affordable and
deliverable.
In line with national trends Cornwall's population is getting older as average life
expectancy continues to rise. By 2031 over one in four people will be over 657.
Typically, people’s preference is to remain in their own homes and often this
requires homes to be adapted. But in other cases, new forms of supported
housing and specialist provision are needed. Cornwall needs to ensure that our
housing offer is able to respond to these demographic challenges in a way which
reflects people’s wishes and dignity as they grow older.
There is more work for us to do to better understand the housing implications of
Cornwall’s ageing population but we know that
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It will generate an estimated £21.6m bill for adaptations - 27,300 homes
(12.6% occupied dwellings) have at least one resident with a limiting long
term illness or disability.
A high proportion of homes in the Council’s own housing stock are
designated for older people and not all are fit for purpose
The current system of disabled facilities grants is costly and inefficient. This
exacerbates demand for the mandatory grants.
We need to plan for new provision including lifetime homes and homes for
wheel chair users and demand for extra care accommodation.
Around 45% of households own their homes outright. The average equity
value of dwellings in Cornwall is £162,000
The Ambition
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7
We will transform the way disabled adaptations are delivered. Lean
processes and innovation will make significant reductions in the
capital cost of grants.
We will remodel existing council owned homes for older people and,
where it is needed, convert schemes to an extra care model.
We will set targets for the number of new affordable homes to be
built at lifetime homes or wheelchair standards to build out future
problems.
We will use planning gain to deliver new forms of provision.
Supporting People Sector Review Report – Older People
17
Fixing it now

The Council will establish from within existing resources a dedicated team
to deliver Disabled Facilities Grants and home improvements, drawing
expertise from across the Council.
We will bring forward capital allocations of up to £10.2 million from future
years and use the increased recent allocation to meet demand while we
transform the process this results in a short term opportunity cost pending
receipt of Government grant.
Over the next 4 years we will set targets for 10% of new affordable homes
will be delivered as lifetime and wheelchair units
We will use the opportunity of self financing of the Housing Revenue
Account to identify pilot schemes for remodelling sheltered schemes and
prioritise funding for the first pilot.
We will use planning gain opportunities (including on our own sites) to
deliver extra care to meet needs identified in the forthcoming adult care
commissioning review.
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Resourcing the short term plan
There are 2 elements which require finance in a short term plan:
1. Bringing forward resources for DFGs from future years to meet demand
whilst work on transforming the service will reduce the on-going capital
requirements.
2. Allocating capital in 2014-15 for a pilot stock remodelling project will allow
suitable projects to be prepared and planned. It is anticipated that some of
this capital will be matched by HCA funding and HRA capital.
Longer term aspirations

Design and implement a Cornwall wide home improvement agency,
working on behalf of the Council, to provide disabled facilities and
home improvement services by April 2013.
Explore the development of a new model for extra care which is
appropriate to the Cornish context, including the development of
telehealth services
Secure a proportion of new affordable homes to lifetime homes
standards
The Council’s own housing stock will have modernised fit for
purpose older persons provision
Minimise under occupation in family homes
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Innovation - options for the future
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Scope for the Council and strategic delivery partners (Cormac, Tremorvah
Industries and others) to deliver all adaptations.
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Loan schemes and initiatives to unlock equity to deliver more expensive
adaptations.
Future role for a Council owned Home Improvement Agency.
Use of headroom in the HRA to deliver the older persons accommodation
review.
Packaging HRA sites together and delivery of a mixed tenure remodelling
programme with a strategic partner.
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PRIORITY 3: Safe and secure homes
The Challenge
Cornwall has a burgeoning number of people living in temporary and insecure
housing. In many cases this involves the most vulnerable people in chronic
housing need. The high demand for rented homes means that homes are
rationed and provide only for the most vulnerable groups who do not often attract
public support:
 Homeless presentations and acceptances are rising.8
 The use of temporary accommodation (including bed and breakfast). is rising.9
 Incidences of rough sleeping have increased from 12 in 2010, 65 in 2010 and
now 76 in 2011.10
 There is under provision of Gypsies and Travellers sites which leads to illegal
and unauthorised sites.
The cost of doing nothing for these vulnerable groups is high, critically in terms of
health and well being but also for the economy and Cornwall’s reputation.
Three of the groups in most need are
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Rough sleepers
Those living in temporary structures – (park homes and trailers)
Gypsies and travellers
Rough sleepers
 The number of rough sleepers is the second highest in the country, after
Westminster. In October 2010 the Council’s rough sleeper count revealed
76 people were sleeping rough on one night. Over the severe winter 112
individuals approached the Council and its partners for help.
 There is only one direct access night shelter in Cornwall. It’s location is not
acceptable and quality of accommodation not fit for purpose.
 A recent review of the level of homelessness and the level of investment by
the DCLG has put Cornwall on their worry list.
Park homes and trailers
 Cornwall has 3,486 households living in caravans or other mobile or
temporary structures, more than three times the national average
 A key housing issue for these groups is fuel poverty and homes which lack
thermal efficiency. Fuels like LPG are more expensive and park homes are
not eligible for government grants such as warmfront.
Gypsies and travellers
8
P1E and Peter Lally database
P1E and Peter Lally database
10
Rough Sleeper Survey 2011
9
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•
•
There are currently around 15 unauthorised sites in Cornwall. The only way
to tackle these and pursue enforcement action is to provide alternatives
The Council has successfully bid to the HCA for 30 pitches over the next 4
years
The Ambition
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To end rough sleeping in Cornwall.
To reduce fuel poverty and improve the quality of park home
accommodation.
To ensure there is adequate authorised gypsy and traveller
sites and prevent future unauthorised sites through
enforcement.
Fixing it now
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Make provision for future capital and revenue investment for new direct
access hostel accommodation and establish a project group to identify sites
and planning. There are a number of delivery options to be explored. The
sector review shows a need for more direct access across the county. One
option is a hub and spoke model based around the New Connections night
shelter with 2-4 small houses spread geographically.
Work with DCLG on the Council’s homelessness strategy and commit
revenue to support homeless prevention measures.
Provide interim capital funding of £1,248,000 to cash flow the development
of 30 pitches until practical completion. This can be profiled over four years
as the pitches will be phased and delivered on several sites with short term
revenue implications.
Allocate a programme of £0.5m towards an insulation programme for park
homes. This has been agreed will be funded from the Green Cornwall
programme. This will assist between 90 and 100 park home properties. This
initial short term programme will tackle the worst first properties. Alongside
the programme the Council will lobby hard for park homes to be recognised
as dwellings so that occupants are able to bid for external grants to assist
with insulation and tackle fuel poverty. The scheme could be extended in
future years if resources allow.
Revenue Support
For specialist housing including older persons accommodation and supported
housing, it is essential that accommodation is well managed and this often
requires revenue to fund accommodation based support. The provision of a direct
access hostel is one such circumstance where adequate support from
appropriately skilled staff is essential. Revenue support will help deliver the wider
outcomes essential if residents are to re-integrate into society.
We will need to ensure that our commissioning strategies and cycles are
developed in partnership, using local intelligence across services, to ensure that
we meet our commitments in ‘Future Cornwall’.
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Longer term aspirations
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Deliver a new direct access night shelter for homeless people with the
necessary care and support services
Reduce the number of households living in temporary housing and
structures and ensure all park homes have good standards of thermal
insulation
Prevent unauthorised gypsy and traveller sites
Innovation - options for discussion
Explore how we can improve commissioning of housing support for vulnerable
and homeless households working more effectively with Adult Care and Support
and the Supporting People team.
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PRIORITY 4 Investment in our homes
The Challenge
Cornwall needs to invest in its housing stock. It has particular challenges around
the age of the stock and the lack of thermal comfort in many homes. Within
Council owned stock there are inherited problems with poor quality homes –
particularly with Cornish units and Mundic properties and there was a lack of
investment in properties previously managed by some of the District Councils. But
with limited public resources, the Council needs to target funding to secure the
best outcomes and develop an investment led approach, matching private sector
contributions with council resources.
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94,000 private sector dwellings fail the Decent Homes Standard, mainly
because of the main lack of adequate heating/insulation and excess cold
18,050 dwellings failed the disrepair standard.
The worst conditions are in the private rented sector which also houses a high
proportion of households in receipt of benefit (51%)
Many home owners own their homes outright with equity of £160,000 on
average but they tend to be older people with very low incomes
Cornwall has Cornwall has 3,700 long term empty homes. This is a waste of
valuable housing resources. Bringing homes back into use helps us to reduce
the number of new homes we need but it also generates income to the Council
through Council tax and future new homes bonus payments.
638 homes are of non traditional construction (including Cornish units) and
600 are built with mundic block
The Council has already allocated funds in 2011/12 to direct towards tackling
empty homes. We will use this to kick start an empty homes programme and to
secure match funding from the Homes and Communities Agency towards
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Supporting compulsory purchase/enforced sale schemes and area based
initiatives on empty properties to set out the Council’s intent with an
identified list of target properties.
Developing and marketing the existing loans facilities to support owners to
bring properties back into use.
Early intervention with owners to stop them becomes long term empty
properties.
Promote wider public understanding around the issue of empty homes in
Cornwall and establish the private sector housing team’s co-ordinating and
delivery role. To provide a greater focus for this work it is proposed that the
private sector housing team are located into the Planning and Regeneration
Service alongside Strategic Housing. This will enhance the linkages between
planning, building control, strategic housing and affordable housing services
and enable the Council to offer a co-ordinated response to the challenge of
empty homes.
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The Ambition
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As part of the green Cornwall programme to improve the
sustainability and thermal efficiency of people’s homes
To reduce the level of disrepair and fuel poverty in the private
rented stock
As part of bringing forward the HRA Asset Management Plan
replace windows in the former Caradon area, provide new doors,
put in place a green programme for homes improving efficiency and
reducing fuel costs for tenants and addressing the problems of
Cornish units and Mundic properties.
To achieve a 15% reduction in the number of long term empty
homes in Cornwall by 2015 and bring 520 homes back into use
Fixing it now
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The Council will maintain a loans programme for private landlords to
improve the homes rented to vulnerable tenants and for owners to bring
empty properties back into use
We will work with other departments of the Council to help improve Council
tax records and collection rates which in turn will increase new homes
bonus allocations
We will direct resources to a small CPO programme as a policy of last resort
to tackle the worst long term empties
We will develop a Cornwall housing standard setting standards for the
Council’s own stock.
We will use the head room in self financing to accelerate the 30 year HRA
Asset Management Plan. Our aim is to deliver the Cornwall housing
standard within 5 years.
Longer term aspirations
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A new self financing loan scheme for home owners.
Initiatives to unlock equity for home owners to invest in their own homes.
Reduce the number of long term empty homes by 50% but by 2015 to have
tackled one in seven.
Develop in-house expertise in compulsory purchase.
Develop an area based approach to empty homes and buildings to tackle
town centre degeneration.
Innovation - options for discussion
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Develop skills and activities CPO activity sharing and importing expertise
where its needed.
Scope for Council backed equity release for home repair.
Green deal and green programme initiatives to increase the energy
efficiency of the housing stock and reduce fuel poverty.
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Next Steps
Agree early fixes
There are some specific programmes we need to fix now and investment decisions
which need to be taken early. To progress the investment plan, the Council needs
to grant approval through the 2012-13 budget process.
Set up a single issue workshop to consider longer term solutions and
potential innovations
There is considerable potential within housing for the Council to innovate and be
more ambitious. Further debate is needed at senior level to direct work on longer
term solutions
Procure the PFI sites and secure agreement for the ring fencing of
deferred receipts
The former PFI sites have been waiting for an alternative delivery solution for over
a year. The existing HCA framework would allow us to procure a prototype quickly
and test whether we can scale the programme in future to reflect our ambitions.
To ensure that the level of capital receipts to be returned is understood and
procurement can proceed, CLT and Cabinet need to agree a final list of council
sites and confirm that receipts from the current disposals can be re-invested into
a second package of sites.
Host meetings with strategic RPs
The Council has an aspiration to increase the strategic capacity of delivery
partners. We need to meet with national and larger RPs to explore their interest in
future opportunities in Cornwall
Establish a project board for the investment plan
Given that housing objectives and resources are shared across directorates in the
organisation, longer term investment plan decisions and new initiatives should be
directed by a new project board to oversee the preparation of any business case
and delivery performance. The Council needs to ensure it has the resources and
focus within services to deliver the plan.
Progress the HRA business case including seeking support for a new build
programme of 200 homes
An early decision for the ALMO will be the extent to which the business plan and
HRA headroom will support development and their involvement in direct delivery.
Complete a refresh of the housing strategy
In 2012 the Council will refresh of the housing strategy. The investment plan
reflects housing strategy priorities but securing investment will enable the Council
to set out more clearly a radical programme of delivery and set challenging
targets for performance.
The detailed funding requirements for each element of the programme
are set out at Appendices 1 & 2
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