NOTES OF EVIDENCE

Meeting	Policy Commission for Care, Health and Housing
Ref	He.PC.22/02/07
Date	22 February 2007
Time	18.00hrs
Place	Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight
Purpose of meeting	Formal public meeting
Attendance	Commission	Cllrs Erica Oulton (Chairman), Win McRobert, Margaret Webster, Colin West and David Whittaker Co-opted Members: Mr Robert Jones and Mr David White
	Cabinet	Cllr George Brown
	Secretariat	Cllr Alan Wells
	Other Councillors
	Officers	Ms Louise Biggs - Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Team Ms Vanda Niemiec - Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Team Ms Sarah Mitchell – Director of Adult and Community Services Mr Peter Griffiths – Housing Research, Development and Enabling Manager Mr Mark Howell – Head of Housing
	Stakeholders
	Apologies	Cllr Geoff Lumley and Cllr Roger Mazillius
Agenda Items
1. To agree the notes of evidence arising at the meeting held on 22 November 2006	Notes agreed
2. Declarations of Interest.	Cllr David Whittaker as a Member of the Development Control Committee Cllr Margaret Webster declared an interest as a board member of Medina Housing Mr Robert Jones also declared an interest as shareholder in Medina Housing
3. To discuss and agree the Blue Paper on Affordable Housing – Low Cost Homes for Island People (enquiry H2/06)	3.1 Cllr West and Whitaker gave a brief outline of each of the ten recommendations contained within the Blue Paper, including the reasons behind each one. 3.2 The recommendation to investigate the setting-up of a Housing Trust requires a great deal more work. This may involve the Policy Commission at a later stage, after the blue paper has been considered by cabinet. 3.3 North Cornwall are using a housing trust for rural housing, although is still in the development stage. 3.4 Issues with the building of low cost and affordable homes within rural locations was highlighted as an area of past difficulty and one that also needed more work. There is a need for everyone to recognise the importance of providing homes for younger people to be able to stay within their local area. 3.5 Neighbourhood involvements officers are key to building sustainable communities, rather than simply houses, within areas on the Island. They can help to bring the community together and resolve problems as they arise to reduce tensions between mixed housing developments. This idea has been shown to work in East Hants District Council, a Beacon Authority on Housing. 3.6 We are trying to balance the housing market on the Island, ensuring that there are low-cost homes, affordable homes with a mix of tenure. 3.7 Developers interviewed during the blue paper consultation mentioned that they are sometimes willing to provide a small discount on new houses if asked. 3.8 It was noted an important to focus on reducing land value in order to reduce the cost of homes on the Island. 3.9 The Policy Commission all voted to agree the Blue Paper.
Actions	None