Decision details

To agree a Local Lettings Plan to cover first lets and all subsequent lets of all seven Affordable Rented Cheltenham Borough Council owned properties within 9-11 and 13-16 Pear Tree Close, Cheltenham, GL53 0FP for an initial 15 month period (until 5th May 2025), to be reviewed by Cheltenham Borough Council and Cheltenham Borough Homes Officers in December 2024.

This decision provides Cheltenham Borough Council with the authority to introduce, monitor and review a Local Lettings Plan covering the seven Affordable Rented properties at 9-11 and 13-16 Pear Tree Close, Cheltenham, GL53 0FP. This Local Lettings Plan will help to integrate the new residents into the wider neighbourhood, as well as supporting community wellbeing and community cohesion. By seeking approval for this decision, the Council will be meeting a key priority of our adopted 2023-2028 Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, namely ‘investing in our communities to make them safer, stronger and healthier’. For the sake of clarity, this Local Lettings Plan will not apply to the two Shared Ownership houses on this development.

Please note this Local Lettings Plan will be reviewed by key officers from Cheltenham Borough Council and Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) in December 2024 following Officer sign-off to determine whether an extension to or amendment of the Local Lettings Plan is appropriate.
If, for any reason, the Local Lettings Plan is not functioning as intended, the Council will have the ability to review the Local Lettings Plan, in consultation with CBH Officers, within 15 months of the approved officer decision date- (prior to 5th May 2025). This Local Lettings Plan will automatically expire on 5th May 2025 in the event that CBH or Cheltenham Borough Council do not seek a review of this Local Lettings Plan during December 2024.

An alternative option considered was not agreeing or implementing a Local Lettings Plan. However, owing to the importance of creating sustainable, resilient and harmonious communities, especially in a location with a low current provision of social housing, as is the case in the surrounding area, this option has been rejected. Additionally, the Council recognises the potential for reputational damage to the Council if tenants (or wider market owners) are unsatisfied with community cohesion (in the event that a Local Lettings Plan was not introduced), and, as such, it was considered appropriate to introduce a Local Lettings Plan in this location.