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Programme & Policy
UL’s Strategic Approach and key priority areas
Urban Living’s main objective is to create and sustain a working housing market within the Pathfinder area. A working market is one where supply and demand for housing are in approximate balance and residents have the knowledge and resources to meet their reasonable housing needs.
Meeting the demand for housing and providing more residents with the opportunity to access the housing market are key to Urban Living’s Vision and the Business Plan. Urban Living’s Vision was developed in 2006 and is...
"To create a vibrant and sustainable housing market characterised by a thriving economy, cohesive communities and an appropriate range of high quality neighbourhoods."
In order to achieve that vision Urban Living has set five Strategic Objectives. They are:
- Growth – ensuring that the majority of household growth can be accommodated and retained in the Urban Living area.
- Connectivity – re-balancing the housing market and ensuring that complementary economic and social programmes connect with the regeneration of defined local commercial centres.
- Choice – promoting and providing a range of high quality and affordable housing choices that lead to the development of mixed communities.
- Quality – transforming the quality of housing and neighbourhoods throughout the Urban Living area.
- Image – making the Urban Living area a safe, convenient and popular place to live, work and invest.
All projects which are considered for grant funding are judged against those five objectives and only those which make a significant contribution to achieving those objectives are supported. Projects are also rated against other criteria such as value for money and deliverability
Until recently Urban Living’s future programme was mostly targeted at supply side measures. That included bringing forward new development sites to help increase the supply of housing as well as creating more larger properties and improving the design and environmental standard of the new housing built. The ‘credit crunch’ has caused Urban Living to reconsider its strategy. That process has not yet been completed but it is likely the Urban Living will take some initiatives to improve the demand side of the market and make it easier for first time buyers to purchase a property in the Pathfinder area.
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