Decision details

To agree a Local Lettings Plan to cover first lets and all subsequent lets of all six properties within Medway Court, Whaddon Road, Cheltenham GL52 5NG, for an initial 12-month period (until 30th June 2026), to be reviewed by Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) officers in April 2026.

As part of Cheltenham Borough Council’s ongoing acquisition programme, the Council has recently acquired 6 no. flats at Medway Court, Whaddon Road from another social housing provider who was seeking to dispose these properties, to help the Council meet our affordable housing needs. Following this acquisition, the Council is keen to ensure that these homes contribute towards our housing needs whilst maintain community cohesion in this area in line with the objectives outlined within the Council’s 2023-2027 Corporate Plan and 2023-2028 Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.
Accordingly, officers are seeking to introduce this Local Lettings Plan to support the Council’s wide placemaking objectives in creating sustainable, cohesive and resilient communities across the Borough, and align with multi-agency initiatives to ensure that the Whaddon Road area remains a sustainable and thriving community. This approach reflects a standard procedure that the Council follows when securing significant levels of new or existing housing stock in the Borough. To ensure that this Local Lettings Plan remains in place for no longer than required, officers will review the Local Lettings Plan in April 2026 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 April 2026 to ensure the Local Lettings Plan continues to function as intended.

The Council considered letting the 6 homes within Medway Court without a Local Lettings Plan. However, in view of the desire to maintain and improve community cohesion in this area and to ensure that the new residents can settle into their new community without unnecessary disruption, the Council determined that setting up a Local Lettings Plan would be appropriate in this location. This approach, agreed between Housing Options, Housing Management, Lettings and Housing Enabling officers represents a pragmatic approach to ensuring that these homes are managed and let in an effective way.

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. Housing Options Officers suggested that the Council’s approach to the Exclusion Criteria should be reviewed and slightly relaxed to ensure that a proportionate balance is struck between community cohesion impacts and meeting housing need on the Council’s housing register. This resulted in a reduced period for applicants to be refused a tenancy on the grounds of having a history of ASB at a previous or current tenancy from 5 to 3 years. Additionally, Housing Options officers advised that the criteria for refusing a tenancy offer to persons with a high support need should be clarified, with officers required to demonstrate that either the applicant is not being adequately supported with their support need, or they are demonstrably refusing to engage with relevant support offers to justify bypassing on these grounds. Following feedback from relevant Cheltenham Borough Council officers, feedback was sought from the Cabinet Member for Housing, who provided a written statement in support of the Local Lettings Plan, noting that- “For all our tenants, safety, comfort and the chance to build a new life in a community is important. I welcome the new Lettings Plan as it will offer potential tenants a real opportunity for a new home and future”.