Decision details

1.    To extend The Moors Local Lettings Plan (dated 27/06/2024) for a period of 5 years (until 30th June 2030) to support the Home Office’s ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ project in this area.

2.    To review the Moors Local Lettings Plan in March 2030 to understand whether a further extension to this Local Lettings Plan is required.

3.    To include a revised Local Lettings Plan review clause allowing the Council to review the Local Lettings Plan at any point prior to 30th June 2030 if there has been a significant change in circumstances which would justify a review.

In June 2024, the Council published a Local Lettings Plan to help strengthen community cohesion, tackle criminal activity and support the Home Office’s ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ Initiative across the Moors Estate in Cheltenham in line with the objectives outlined within the Council’s 2023-2027 Corporate Plan and 2023-2028 Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy. These objectives remain relevant in the context of the Moors estate.

Following discussions with internal teams, officers understand that positive progress has been made in terms of multi-agency progress through the ‘Clear Hold Build’ Initiative across the Moors estate. The introduction of the Moors Local Lettings Plan in June 2024 is a key strand of this multi-agency approach, ensuring that Organized Criminal Gangs (OCGs) cannot re-establish a presence in the local community once they have been removed.

Whilst officers understand that improvements have been made in terms of tackling ASB and creating a safe and stable community, discussions with CBC colleagues in the Properties and Communities Team has reflected that further progress is required through the Clear, Hold, Build Programme before we should seek to lift this Local Lettings Plan. Equally, discussions with both Members representing the St Peters Ward indicated that duration of the Clear, Hold, Build Programme is likely to be between 15-20 years, and therefore it would be appropriate to extend the duration of the LLP for a further five years (until 30th June 2030) to give all parties certainty around the lettings arrangements covering the Moors community.

As such, officers are seeking to extend the Local Lettings Plan for a further 5 years to ensure that we can continue the positive progress towards creating a safe, resilient and welcoming community in the Moors. To ensure that this Local Lettings Plan is reviewed on a timely basis and does not remain active for any longer than is necessary, officers will review the Local Lettings Plan in March 2030 to judge whether a further extension to the Local Lettings Plan is required.

 Moreover, a revised Local Lettings Plan review clause will allow the Council to review the Local Lettings Plan at any point prior to 30th June 2030 if there has been a significant change in circumstances which would justify a review.