Lee Brazier, portfolio holder for housing at Newark and Sherwood District Council writes about securing future of social housing
I am committed to securing the future of social housing, writes Lee Brazier, portfolio holder for housing at Newark and Sherwood District Council.
I care passionately about providing decent well-maintained homes for our council tenants, as well as opportunities for our communities to thrive and collaborate. Recently, Newark and Sherwood District Council has pledged its support, in an unprecedented cross-party coalition of over 100 council landlords led by Southwark Council, to jointly publish five solutions for the government to ‘secure the future of England’s council housing’.
They make up a plan for a ‘decade of renewal’, with local authorities and central government working together to get ‘Housing Revenue Accounts’ (HRAs) back on stable foundations, bring all homes up to modern and green standards, and deliver the next generation of council homes. I am proud of our commitment to ensure we hold the government to account on important issues such as these.
Over the summer, I was honoured to open a new temporary accommodation facility in Newark. This type of facility is available for residents who, through no fault of their own, need it. Whether that is to escape a difficult domestic situation or to help move from being homeless to a more permanent home, this facility offers incredible support to people in our community who really need it. It’s been cleverly designed to allow the same units to be used for single or elderly residents or larger family groups based on the real needs of residents rather than a one size fits all solution.
To help our wider local communities, we have an initiative called Community Chest, it’s a grant scheme specifically designed to help in areas where there’s lots of social housing. It’s an opportunity for communities to get money to help their local area, that could be with issues such as combatting Anti-Social Behaviour, improving waste management or resolving other issues the community has identified.
I am especially proud of those initiatives we have funded that go on and help local residents in the long term. For example, we provided garden tools so the tenants at De Lacy Court in Ollerton can grow their own vegetables.
We also help to bring communities together, whilst also improving the local environment, for example, we organised a ‘Spruce up Day’ at South View in Newark.
It’s so easy to focus on the negative things in our district, but there is so much good stuff to focus on too. In addition to the Community Chest, we have a broader Community Grant scheme and also half term cookery courses we run across the district for younger residents, equipping them with useful life skills they can use everyday, I want to see our residents enjoying, and being proud of, this amazing district.