Decision

To agree a Local Lettings Plan to cover first lets and all subsequent lettings of all six properties within Mauds Elm House, Road, Cheltenham GL51 9JJ) for an initial 12-month period (until 31st July 2027), to be reviewed by Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) officers during April 2027.

Reasons for the decision

This Local Lettings Plan has been agreed in reflection of longstanding anti-social behaviour, including drug dealing (county lines and dangerous drug networks) and wider criminality arising from a number of properties within 1 – 6 Mauds Elm House, GL51 9JJ 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 1-6 Mauds Elm House, 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 1-6 Mauds Elm House, 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 introduce 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.

Alternative options considered

The Council considered not agreeing a Local Lettings Plan in this location. However, following discussions with officers, it was felt that the persistent (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 and therefore a Local Lettings Plan is required 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.