WILTSHIRE COUNCIL HOUSING ALLOCATIONS POLICY

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

Wiltshire Council has recognised changes in demand for housing in rural and urban areas, and also in people's ability to buy a home in the locality where they need to live for work and/or family reasons. Many of these people who are unlikely ever to be able to afford to purchase a home on the open market, live in villages like Tisbury and its surrounding parishes.

COULD YOU BENEFIT FROM THE CHANGE?

· Do you live in, or have a strong local connection with Tisbury?

· Do you currently rent your property in the private rental market?

· Are you unable to afford to buy a home of your own locally because current house prices are unaffordable?

If your answer to these questions is “Yes” then you should make sure that you contact “Homes4Wiltshire”

WHAT TO DO NEXT

We have 4 people with training from Wiltshire Council to assist in making the application and the uploading of documents. If you would like assistance please

email info@naddercommunitylandtrust.org and one of our team will contact you. Allocation information in relation to applications will be treated as strictly confidential.

White Horse Housing Association will be managing the Old Sports Centre houses and will conduct an interview and selection process from the eligible applicants.

NCLT has no influence or say in who the successful homeowners will be.

Or to move yourself/your family from the 'Open Market Register' and into the 'Housing Register Band 4' directly you will need to contact the Council via the website homes4Wiltshire or by calling 0300 456 0104.

Admission to the Housing Register without a defined housing need as defined in the Allocations Policy, recognises the greater unaffordability of homes in both small villages and villages outside settlement framework areas - as defined in Wiltshire Councils Development Plan - and also the need to consider the housing needs of those people with connections to rural villages, more flexibly. People identified with connections to parishes are considered only for rural exception site and Community Land Trust homes.

SHELTERED HOUSING

Although the new development has no sheltered housing planned, Wiltshire Council have recently changed their policy relating to older persons accommodation.

Any person aged 60 or over, meeting the connection criteria, will now be placed in Band 4 of the Housing Register, where the customer has expressed a preference for it. The support needs do not need to be very significant as the purpose of older persons’ accommodation is to provide accommodation where a person’s needs can change and be met over time. The council will let its own sheltered homes to anyone aged 60 and over, however, at the point of a successful bid, if the home is owned by another housing provider, they will perform a pre-tenancy assessment, applying its own lettings policy.