Decision details

To agree an extension to the existing Local Lettings Plan to cover the letting of all six properties within 15-25 Richards Road, covering odd numbers 15,17,19,21,23,25 Richards Road, Cheltenham GL51 9JX) for a further 12-month period (from July 2026). This will be reviewed by Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) officers during April 2027.

This Local Lettings Plan has been agreed in reflection of longstanding anti-social behaviour, including drug dealing (including county lines and dangerous drug networks) and wider criminality arising from a number of properties (odd numbers) within 15-25 Richards Road, Cheltenham, GL51 9JX which are negatively impacting the health and wellbeing of our tenants and local residents living in the surrounding area.

The council has worked closely with internal teams and the Police in order to resolve these persistent ASB issues affecting the block of flats on 15-25 Richards Road, with the aim of creating and restoring a safe and secure environment for our tenants and local residents in this area, however, despite efforts to disrupt and prevent anti-social behaviour in this area, ASB issues remain ongoing.

From a Corporate perspective, creating quality homes and safe and strong communities is a key priority of the Council’s new Corporate Plan (2025-2028). Under this priority, the Council has committed to- “Build positive connections with our communities, make people feel safer and improve our neighbourhoods, public spaces and town centre”. The Corporate Plan also acknowledges that we must meet the requirements outlined within the new consumer standards set out by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), especially, (in the context of this Local Lettings Plan) concerning the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, which requires that we- “engage with partners including police, the voluntary sector charities to ensure that tenants can live in safe and well maintained neighbourhoods as well as feeling safe in their homes”.

Both of these corporate and national drivers are consistent with the introduction of a Local Lettings Plan on 15-25 Richards Road (published 05.09.25), which seeks to help the Council and our partners create safe, sustainable communities where our residents can thrive.

This focus on creating strong, healthy communities is reinforced further within the Council’s Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023 to 2028, with Priority 5 of the strategy being- “We will invest in our communities to help make them safer, stronger and healthier”. Specifically, a key goal falling under this priority relates to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour. This Local Lettings Plan aligns with this corporate priority, as it will prevent applicants with a history of criminality or anti-social behaviour from securing these properties over the duration of the Local Lettings Plan.

Accordingly, in view of this background context, officers are seeking to extend this Local Lettings Plan to support the Council’s wider placemaking objectives in creating sustainable, cohesive and resilient communities across the Borough, thereby supporting ongoing multi-agency initiatives to restore community stability and a sense of belonging to this neighbourhood.

To ensure that this Local Lettings Plan remains in place for no longer than required, officers will review the Local Lettings Plan during April 2027, to determine whether any amendment or extension to this Local Lettings Plan is required, with an option within the Local Lettings Plan to review this document at any point prior to end of July 2027 to ensure the Local Lettings Plan continues to function as intended.

In the event that no review is undertaken, or no decision is made to extend the Local Lettings Plan, this lettings arrangement will automatically expire on 31st July 2027.

The Council considered not extending the Local Lettings Plan in this location. However, following discussions with officers, it was felt that the ongoing, long term (12 months+) nature of antisocial behaviour arising from this block of flats, despite significant efforts to resolve this situation, was ultimately undermining community cohesion and having a significant negative impact on the health and well-being of our tenants and our residents.

In light of this evidence, officers agreed that it would be unacceptable to allow this behaviour to continue without extending the Local Lettings Plan to reinforce community cohesion and provide a level of stability to this neighbourhood. This approach has been agreed between Housing Options, Housing Management, Lettings and Housing Enabling Officers in view of evidence provided by the Council’s frontline teams and key partners.

Officers have engaged with internal CBC Teams, including Housing Options, Housing Management, Lettings and Housing Enabling Officers to ensure that both housing need and community cohesion impacts are reflected within the wording of the Local Lettings Plan. Following this internal consultation, officers engaged with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services, who enquired as to whether older people could potentially be included in the plan, especially those seeking to downsize. Officers responded by confirming that, through Homeseeker Plus, applicants seeking to downsize (who are often pensioners) receive emergency banding to help households (irrespective of age) downsize from larger to smaller properties. Officers also clarified that, there was nothing within the proposed LLP which would prevent allocations via emergency band on this scheme, if pensioners wished to move into these homes, notwithstanding that the primary purpose of the LLP is to help strengthen community cohesion. Additionally, officers engaged with CBC’s finance team, who stated that this being an extension to an existing plan aiming to make better use of a housing stock and meet local needs, has no financial impact on the general funds of the Council.