Housing Revenue Account Business Plan
Housing Revenue Account Business Plan
Introduction and Strategic Context
This Plan sets out how the council intends to manage its Housing Revenue Account (HRA) resources to support the delivery of high quality council housing in Pembrokeshire. This is from the perspective of maintaining and improving our existing housing stock, tenancy support and management through to the development of new homes to meet the continuing need for over the next 30 years.
The Plan provides an updated position on the council housing portfolio and the council’s priorities for investing in homes and services to effectively meet housing need in Pembrokeshire. It also identifies the main opportunities and threats to the delivery of the Business Plan, and how these will be managed. In particular this year, with the revised Wales Housing Quality Standard 2 having been launched late in 2023, we have profiled the implication of these new requirements into the financial plan which has meant that the number of new homes built has had to be reduced over the course of the Business Plan compared to the previously published Plan of 2023-2053. The new WHQS 2023 requirements include revised standards and requirements related to decarbonising our homes, and increased measures related to floor coverings, water butts and safe storage spaces which cumulatively contribute towards additional financial requirements. This therefore has impacted upon the finances available to continue at pace with building additional new houses to add to our stock. Furthermore, the continued pressure of high building costs also contributes to the Plan’s financial pressures meaning there is less resilience to further increases in costs or decreases in funding. The Plan relies heavily on assumptions that significant capital grants will be made available to contribute towards our future new build programme.
The need for social housing has never been so high, with multiple pressures on the demand for housing of all tenures. We are seeing households enter the housing register who have never previously needed the support of social housing, and emphasises the need to consider all tenures and types of housing to meet our population need. A Housing Strategy has been agreed for the county that encompasses the wider need for housing.
Housing Strategy 2024 - 2029
Housing therefore forms one of the key strategic corporate priorities for Pembrokeshire. Within the Corporate Strategy 2023-2028 and the Programme for Administration for 2022-2027, there is commitment that appropriate housing is available, accessible and affordable with the following mission:
‘We will be innovative in dealing with the housing challenges we face by ensuring the people of Pembrokeshire have access to a suitable home which is of a high standard, affordable and improves their quality of life.’
Relevant to this Business Plan, the following specific headlines have been agreed:
- Directly develop up to 300 new build housing units by 2027 together with progressing with the development of our older people’s sheltered housing and supported living provision.
- Accelerate housing delivery as well as work with partners to increase the range of affordable housing projects including the development of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and making available smaller plots of Council land for those seeking self-build opportunities. This will help grow Pembrokeshire's housing supply.
- Provide a high quality landlord service which listens and responds to the needs of our tenants.
- Identify opportunities for the regeneration of our existing estates while also growing our housing stock and improving the environment.
- Work towards decarbonising our own housing stock as well as support private householders to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
A number of other significant national policy and legislative drivers continue to influence demands and priorities for our housing stock. Requirements placed upon us in developing local strategy and policy in response to these include:
- WG target of building 20,000 more affordable homes in this term of government
- Changes to homelessness legislation and policy reinforcing the ‘No-one Left Out’ policy – two county strategy / plans have been taken through cabinet – Housing Support Programme Strategy and Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan.
- Gradual phasing in on additional policy and legislative measures to reduce the impact of second homes and holiday lets. More recently PCC’s agreement to raise 2nd homes council tax premium and for Long Term Empty Properties is in recognition of the impact on the number of such homes has on housing supply and overall house prices being unaffordable for a large sector of our resident population.
- Grant funding aimed at increasing supply of housing and to ease the pressures on homelessness and following the Ukraine resettlement programme – Social Housing Grant, Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme.
- Renting Homes (Wales) Act has introduced significant changes in housing tenancy contracts that has had considerable implications on the tenancy management service in managing its introduction.
All of these strategic priorities feature strongly within our HRA Business Plan, reinforcing the clear contribution that council housing has in making Pembrokeshire a thriving county.