Our first Vlog

In moving towards being more digital in our approach, we want this blog to shift from being predominantly written word to more visual and vocal. So we are going to take it in turn to update on what’s happened and happening and our view of the world of Wiltshire Council via video. Carlton was persuaded to be the first and here’s his view:

There are a few matters that we wanted to update on as well as the video; as I’m sure you can all appreciate, we’ve been spending a bit of time discussing the skills and capacity that we consider will be needed to deliver the priorities and programmes of work that are set out in the business plan, as well as those things that come in from left field to test our flexibility and ability to respond and deliver. 

One such left field issue that recently hit is the Government’s announcement on planning for the right homes in the right places. Whilst this is a consultation at this stage, it sets out a number of proposals to reform the current planning system to increase both the supply of new homes and the local authority’s capacity to manage growth.

The proposals look at adopting a standard methodology to assess local housing need by local authority area for the period 2006 to 2026. The methodology will focus on the average price of a home versus the average salary. If the cost of a home is more than 4 x the salary then the provision of the number of homes needed in that area will increase. In Wiltshire the costs to purchase a home is currently 10.7 x the average salary (national average is 8 x the average salary), which means we will see an increase.

Our current local plan (Wiltshire Core Strategy) requires at least 42,000 homes to be built in this period of which 30% will be affordable. The new proposed methodology will mean an increase to 44,540 homes, which is 2,540 homes more than the number in the plan. So far we have delivered around 20,000 homes (of which 6,000 are affordable) and we have land committed for a further 19,000 – so we are on target based on the Core Strategy.

This means we will need to look carefully at the methodology and understand the implications for Wiltshire’s communities and housing growth across the county.

Whilst we continue to review and decide on the expertise and capacity that we need, we have implemented a few changes in the senior team for an interim period. We are delighted to update that:

• Alison Elliot will be interim Corporate Director for Adult Social Care and Transformation (from 1 November)
• Mike Wilmott will act up as Associate Director for Development Management, Operations and Spatial Planning Services.
• Tim Martienssen will act up as Associate Director for Economic Regeneration, Employment and Skills and Major Projects Services.
• Lucy Townsend will act up as Associate Director for Operational Children’s Services

It’s always good to have internal opportunities for people to grow and expand their knowledge and expertise and to also have new input into the leadership team.

As always, we welcome your feedback!

Alistair, Carlton, Carolyn and Terence