Changes to social housing allocation explained by Wiltshire Council

THE new way that Wiltshire Council will allocate social housing has been explained by Nicole Smith, Wiltshire Council’s head of strategic housing.

The housing officer explained how it would work at the Westbury Area Board meeting held on Thursday 10th April at The Laverton, Westbury.

This has been brought about by a need to update the policy, partly due to the Localism Act 2011 which provided new freedoms to set the rules determining which categories of applicants qualified for social housing.  Nicole explains, “The emphasis will be local houses for local people.  People on the register will have to show a strong connection to the specific area they wish to be housed in.

“The current housing bands will be reviewed, and local connection will over-ride housing need in some circumstances.  All current members of the housing register will be informed before the changes are introduced, and it is hoped the changes will be brought in around September 2014.”

For more information on Wiltshire Council’s plans on how to allocate social housing visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk

The next Westbury Area Board meeting will be on Thursday 5th June at Bratton Jubilee Hall with a 7pm start time. Check the Wiltshire Council website for details.