Date: 11/12/2008
Four Derbyshire councils and their housing partners -- including High Peak Borough Council -- are celebrating the award of £220,000 to further improve services to residents seeking affordable housing to rent.
Derbyshire Dales District Council and High Peak Borough Council, working with Dales Housing and High Peak Community Housing, started the scheme in March 2007. Amber Valley Borough Council and Amber Valley Homes joined the scheme in December 2007, with Erewash Borough Council and Three Valleys Housing going live in February 2009.
In a very competitive process, the four councils beat off competition, from across the country, to become one of only 30 partnerships awarded funding and one of only four in the East Midlands.
Together, the partnership provides a service called Home-Options, which advertises properties to rent.
Properties can be viewed at www.home-options.org and people who have registered with Home-Options can then express an interest in a property. The current service ensures that residents are able to see all the properties on offer and so make the best choice for themselves, rather than have to accept an allocation of a home.
The funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government will allow enhancements to be made to Home-Options by providing a more personalised service.
This includes advertising private rented properties and potentially low cost market homes. There will also be the opportunity to create closer links with Job Centre Plus, to help people with housing and employment issues and provide extra support for vulnerable households to access Home-Options. The personalised advice service will take into account the person's individual circumstances to ensure they make the best choice for their specific circumstances.
This funding will be used to develop a range of services across the Home-Options partnership area.
Home-Options will become a true "one-stop shop" for anyone seeking advice on housing matters. The partnership will be looking to develop common approaches to bring about efficient, yet locally focused, services. This is particularly relevant given the current economic climate.
Andrew Bingham, Executive Councillor for Social and Community Development, said: "Local people searching for a home will benefit from seeing all the homes they can afford, in one simple list. By providing a personalised service for customers we will be able to help them make the right choice for them and their families, taking in to account their income. This is a very exciting project and one which will help residents consider not just homes provided by Housing Associations but also private landlords accredited with their local council and low cost market homes."
Although planning work has already started, the funding will be made available in April 2009, with the first improvements coming online towards the end of next year.
The Derbyshire partnership will be working with other groups of councils across the country to share costs and provide value for money when spending the grant allocation.