Five thousand new homes will be built in Plymouth over the next five years.
That is the ambition of Plan for Homes 3, the latest housing strategy from Plymouth City Council.
By supporting a variety of new and affordable housing to tackle housing needs and homelessness whilst addressing existing poor housing conditions, the plan sets out a clear vision of the future for housing in the city to support the delivery of the Joint Local Plan
Building on the successful track record of its two previous incarnations, this plan will set aside £15.4 million to provide a wide variety of housing for a wide range of need.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet member for Housing and Cooperative Development, said: “The new Plan for Homes 3 encapsulates what we must achieve in Plymouth.
“People don’t just need homes. They need quality homes, with economic heating systems; built to high standards. But most of all, people need homes that they can truly afford and this plan marries those two things up.”
A key theme of the new plan focuses on building the right homes in the right place. This will be achieved by complimenting the Joint Local Plan to ensure that homes are built where growth is already catered for, as Councillor Penberthy explains:
“The right house is a house that meets an identified need, be that veterans housing, self-build plots, truly affordable social housing or indeed any other form of housing requirement.
“The right place are locations, many already earmarked in the JLP, with good transport links, local services and schools, to support the increased population.”
The plan will be funded by a new Housing Investment Fund, a pot of money designed to support the housing industry to delivering the needs of the city.
In the first programme, £15.4 million will be invested to kick start the plan and deliver the type of houses that are needed locally.
“We cannot leave housing in Plymouth up to the market,” said Councillor Penberthy. “It simply would not deliver what is needed.
“We have to intervene to ensure that we provide for all people, of different needs and in all areas of the city.”
The plan also caters for improving the standards of existing housing in the city by bringing empty homes back into use and improving standards in the private rental market.
Other key elements include helping to prevent and tackling homelessness, a priority objective of the Plan to ensure that no-one in Plymouth is without a safe and decent home.
Plan for Homes 3 will be presented before Cabinet on Tuesday, March 5.