South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are looking to update their housing allocation policy and have today (15/10) launched a six-week public consultation on the proposed changes.
It was agreed the councils’ housing allocation policy needed reviewing to reflect the districts’ housing needs since the current policy was introduced five years ago. This decision was followed by extensive discussions with partner agencies and key stakeholders to come up with the proposed changes.
These include that the new policy should reflect recently introduced legislation and regulations, particularly in relation to affordability.
Under the new proposals the councils could also accept applications from people on zero hours contracts, which were not widely available when the current policy was drawn up, and this is designed to be fair to the increasing numbers of working households on zero hours contracts.
With the new Local Plans there is likely to be more affordable housing available and the new policy would clearly outline how the district councils will manage the housing allocation process.
Now the councils are looking for feedback from the public on the proposed updates to the policy and have set up a survey for public views.
Everyone has until midnight on 26 November to add their comments.
South Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for housing and environment Cllr Caroline Newton said: “The Housing Allocation Policy is five years old, which is the usual lifespan for such a policy. It needs updating to reflect the current housing needs and the changes in housing legislation since 2013.”
Vale of White Horse District Council cabinet member for housing and environment Cllr Elaine Ware said: “We would really encourage residents to give us their views by responding to this survey to let us know that what we have put forward is a true reflection of the changes needed now and what we will need in the future.”
For more information on the proposed changes to the Housing Allocation Policy the documents can be viewed on the survey.
