Agenda item

To consider the proposed amendments to the Cheshire East Common Allocations Policy and approve for consultation.

The Committee considered the report on the review of the Cheshire East Common Allocations Policy Review. 

The current Policy had been approved in 2018 with minor amendments in the subsequent years to bring the Policy in line with legislation. With the introduction of new Statutory Duties within the Renters Rights Act and the Supported Accommodation Regulator Act, the Housing Options Team in partnership with registered provides and other statutory agencies had identified areas of risk and improvements to the existing Policy.

The sections of the Policy for amendment were set out in paragraph 11 of the report, with the draft revised policy for consultation being set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

A 12-week period of consultation would be undertaken from 1 June 2026 to 21 August 2026 using a number of mechanisms including an on-line questionnaire, internal and external briefing sessions, and promotion through social media, press releases and direct communication with existing customers. The final draft Policy would then be presented to Cabinet for adoption.

During consideration of the report questions were asked about the local connection criteria to ensure residents in rural areas have priority access to affordable and social housing, whist still protecting access for survivors of domestic abuse. An illustrative example was raised from a recent meeting of the Northern Planning Committee where members discussed whether a Section 106 agreement for an affordable housing development in rural Chelford could legally require that homes be allocated to people with a direct local connection.

In response, the Housing Options and Homeless Manager explaining that the Allocations Policy already included two key mechanisms:-

The first being the Rural Communities Connection Criteria, which applies to rural settlements with 3,000 residents/households. This criterion permits for a priority to local residents, people who have employment in the settlement, people with first line relatives’ resident in the settlement for all allocations, existing or newly built properties.

The second was the New Build Criteria which applied where a development did not meet the rural population threshold and ensured that first lets of new homes prioritised applicants with the same local connection criteria, though not future lets.

The Housing Options and Homeless Manager offered to provide written guidance to support planning members, which the Committee agreed would be useful for planning training as it would clarify how Section 106 agreements could enforce local priority in line with the allocations policy.

The Committee sought clarification on whether all Cheshire East Care Leavers, included those placed outside the Borough, were in included in the local connection definition. In response, the Housing Options and Homeless Manager, confirmed that this was correct and that the Policy would be made clearer on this.

Reference was made to the Renters Reform Act and if this would affect the availability of properties. In response, it was stated that the Act mainly affected the private rented sector, not social housing. It was expected that there could be a short-term increase in no-fault evictions but in the longer term the Act should reduce homelessness. The Housing Options Manager indicated that they believed that the Policy was fit for purpose in addressing any potential pressures in increased homelessness and its prevention. The impacts of the Act would remain under review.

It was asked what the total housing supply was for Cheshire East. In response Officers stated approximately 1,200 social housing properties had become available last year and that Cheshire East has around 190,000 housing units across all tenures. The registered providers held the majority of the social housing.

It was raised that the policy stated that an extra bedroom was only allocated once a baby was born and not during pregnancy. It was explained that that this aligned with the Local Housing Allowance rules on affordability and ensured that applicants were not placed in a property they could not afford.

RESOLVED (Unanimously): That the Committee

1               note the proposed amendments to the Cheshire East Common Allocations Policy.

2               authorise officers to publicly consult on the revised draft policy for a period of 12 weeks.

3               note the final version of the revised policy following consultation will be brought back to Cabinet for approval to adopt.