Pillar 2: The places and communities we live in

Housing conditions influence our mental and physical wellbeing. For adults, inadequate or insecure housing causes or contributes to many preventable conditions, including respiratory, nervous system and heart diseases, falls, anxiety and depression. Children are particularly affected by poor quality or insecure housing. They are more likely to be stressed, anxious and depressed, have poorer physical health and do less well at school. Fuel poverty and homelessness have important consequences for health.

Around 10% of excess winter deaths are caused by fuel poverty. The number of homeless people is rising. People who are homeless are more likely to experience physical and mental health problems.

High-quality housing can support health and care services locally in delivering better population health. A well-housed population helps to reduce and delay demand for NHS services and allows patients to go home from hospital when they are clinically fit to do so. In the short term, housing can support local areas in enabling timely discharge from hospital. Longer-term strategic use of public sector and other partners’ estates could potentially free up land to provide affordable housing. For people with mental health problems, good-quality supported housing can promote independent living in the community. Technology can also help people remain independent in their own homes for longer.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is a key partner of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Housing Inequalities Board that is driving forward a defined programme of housing and health integration activity.

We will:

• work with Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, Town Planners and wider partners such as Housing Associations to deliver new national housing target[1], and ensure there is a range of good quality, affordable housing available that matches demand and meets our residents’ needs. This will maximise access to health promoting homes and help improve the offer for people with complex health needs, including those living with mental health conditions or learning disabilities
• work to provide affordable housing and social housing, with a focus on one-bedroom properties for single people
• work across the borough to prevent, reduce and address homelessness
• work with landlords, both social and private, to do more to prevent people from losing their home
• work to ensure sustainable, high quality and low carbon housing is available to assist in reducing fuel poverty
• maximise the use of technology and telecare as appropriate to support individuals’ needs
• review private rented sector regulation actions in the Renters’ Rights Bill
• support national advocacy opportunities to strengthen local powers and capacity within enforcing authorities across planning and housing.

The Borough Plan’s mission of ‘Tackling Hardship and Poverty’ considers how to prevent and address homelessness, whilst the mission of ‘Neighbourhood pride’ includes a commitment to ensuring we have housing that local people need and can afford. This includes supporting neighbourhood plans to ensure that development is appropriate to the needs of the local community and working with Council housing tenants to deliver the ‘Together with Tenants’ Charter commitments to put tenants at the heart of decision-making.

Sources:

[1] Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (2024) Planning Overhaul to reach 1.5 million new homes. 12 December 2024. Available at: Planning overhaul to reach 1.5 million new homes - GOV.UK