Community Housing Fund Policy

1. 1.  Introduction

   1. 1.1. In 2016, the Government launched a £60m Community Housing Fund, targeted predominantly at areas of second home ownership, to increase the supply of affordable housing for delivery by Community Groups.
   2. 1.2. The objectives of the Community Housing Fund are to:
   • increase housing supply in England by increasing the number of additional homes delivered by the community-led housing sector
   • provide housing that is affordable at local income levels and remains so in perpetuity
   • deliver a legacy for the community-led housing sector in the form of an effective and financially self-sustaining body of expertise within the house building industry in England.

2. 2. Scope of policy

   1. 2.1.This policy sets out the Council's approach to using the Community Housing Fund monies to assist the establishment of Community Led Housing Organisations (CLHOs) and support new and existing CLHOs to bring forward sites to deliver affordable housing through the provision of grants.

3. 3. Policy aims

   1. 3.1. The aim of this policy is to increase the number of organisations able to deliver housing, and the supply of additional affordable housing developed as a result. The council will achieve this by:

   • providing 'start-up' funding to facilitate the creation of new CLHOs to be established across the borough and enable existing charities, community groups and community interest companies (CICs) to establish processes and practices to deliver housing

   • establishing clear criteria for how grant funding to support CLHOs will be considered and awarded

4. 4. Relevant legislation and Council policies

   • Housing and Regeneration Act 2008
   • Localism Act 2011
   • Co-operative and Communities Benefit Societies Act 2014

   • GYBC Housing Strategy 2024-2029 & GYBC Homelessness Strategy 2024-2029

   • Subsidy Control Act 2022

5. 5.Application requirements and purpose of funds

   1. 5.1.The fund will be used to support establishment of CLHOs and delivery of housing by CLHOs. This includes establishment costs, pre-development work and essential refurbishment or preparatory activities to bring a property into use as housing. The available funds are not sufficient to fund an entire development and to ensure fairness and maximise impact, funding will be allocated across several projects.
   2. 5.2. Applications will be accepted from any charity, community group or CIC operating in the Great Yarmouth Borough Council area and be subject to individual business cases.

   3. 5.3Grant applications / business cases which should contain as a minimum:

      1. (i)project outline and aims

      2. (ii)activity and timescales

      3. (iii)those contributing to the project and what they bring

      4. (iv) anticipated outcomes

      5. (v)funding required and a breakdown of how this will be used

      6. (vi)beneficiaries

   4. Assessment of applications will take into consideration the deliverability of proposed housing alongside the need for the type of housing proposed, value for money, any ongoing management arrangements and other funding that may have been obtained.

   5. 5.4.Whilst any housing delivery will be 'community led', the Council will offer support throughout the application process to improve the likelihood of housing delivery.

   6. 6.Working grant

   7. 6.1A 'start up' grant of up to £20,000 is available for new Community Led Housing Organisations or existing organisations that can demonstrate their requirement for funding to enable them to deliver housing. Only one application for this grant is permitted per group.

   8. Expected items to be covered include but are not limited to:

      • legal fees

      • purchase of Model Rules (regulator approved constitutional documents for CLTs)

      • registration with Financial Conduct Authority

      • public meetings preparation (room hire, presentation boards etc)

      • design of logo and promotion literature

      • website design and hosting

      • printing and distribution of promotional leaflets and posters

      • clerking (setting up a bank account, producing minutes, AGM duties)

      • membership of CLT or other co-housing network (trustee insurance, legal advice, lobbying representation, members website)

   9. 7.Development grant

   10. 7.1A grant up to a maximum of £60,000 per project is available.  CLHOs can make applications for more than one grant if they have multiple projects and can demonstrate capacity to deliver.
   11. 7.2Eligible activities for the loan will include but are not limited to:

   • feasibility studies

   • surveys

   • architect fees

   • legal fees

   • project support

   • planning application

   1. 8.Refurbishment grant

   2. 8.1Grants up to £20,000 are available to support refurbishment or renovation works where a CLHO has acquired a property and where such works are required to bring that property into use as affordable housing. The grant will not require repayment unless the property is sold, transferred, or ceases to be used for affordable housing, in which case the Council may recover the funding through legal charge.

   3. 9.Delegated decisions

   4. 9.1Authority is delegated to key officers within the Council to authorise expenditure.

   • for all types of application, decisions to approve are delegated to the Head of Strategic Housing in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Communities

6. 10.Equality Impact Assessment

   1. 10.1. An Equality Impact Assessment for this policy can be found at Appendix A.

   2. 11. Monitoring and review

   3. 11.1Organisations will be required to provide quarterly updates for monitoring purposes and to identify any additional support that may be required. Provision of an annual financial statement detailing expenditure, including an evaluation report quantifying the outcomes achieved will also be a requirement of grant funding.
   4. 11.2To ensure that homes are utilised to best meet local housing need, organisations will be required to work in collaboration with the Council when considering occupiers for properties either through a formal nomination procedure, via a panel approach or alternative method as agreed between the parties. This may include establishing a move on process where applicable.
   5. 11.3The policy will be monitored and be subject to review within 3 years.

   6. Status of this document

      Date	April 2026
      Document status	Approved
      For Review	2029

Appendix 1 - Equality Impact Assessment

Aim of the proposal

The aim of the proposal is to amend the existing Community Housing Fund Policy that sets out how the Council will allocate grant funding under the Community Housing Fund and who is eligible to receive grant.

The new policy seeks to extend the number of eligible organisations and increase the values and grant options available to support more organisations to deliver housing within the Borough.

Context to the proposal

In 2016, the Government launched a £60m Community Housing Fund, targeted predominantly at areas of second home ownership, to increase the supply of affordable housing for delivery by Community Groups.

In December 2016 the Council received the first tranche of the Community Housing Fund followed by a second tranche in January 2017, the two amounts totalled £652,770. At the time of writing, there is a remaining balance of £551,241.

A review of the existing policy and fund has been undertaken and the lack of uptake on funding and subsequent delivery of housing has highlighted that elements of the existing policy do not work in practice and that amendments are required to allow for funding to be accessed and become meaningful towards operational delivery.

Who will the proposal impact on

☒Everyone in Great Yarmouth

☒ A particular group or cohort of people - please state who they are: (see below)

☒ Employees

☒ External organisations

☐ Other - Please state if anyone else will be affected:

The proposal will enable a wider number of community organisations to access grant funding with the aim of providing additional housing within the Borough. Proposals will seek to create housing both for general needs and for specific cohorts where a housing need has been identified, including vulnerable groups and those with protected characteristics.

Existing employees will continue to assess and administer grant applications and provide support to community groups where necessary.

The number of people affected

Delivery of housing is likely to be small in number based on the level of funding available.

The demographic profile of people affected

People of all ages, backgrounds, and household types live in or apply for social housing. A significant proportion of applicants have disabilities, are older people, or are families with children.

Evidence gathering

If the proposal goes ahead:

☒ It will help to deliver GYBC's vision and objectives for the borough.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why:

☒ Service users will not experience reductions in the quality, standards, services or benefits they currently receive.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why:

☒ Service users who currently receive a service or benefit will continue to do so. Something will not be taken away from them which they had access to.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why:

☐ No changes are proposed to eligibility criteria for services or benefits.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why: Eligibility for grant funding has been extended to cover any community groups, CICs or charities that can demonstrate a strong proposal and business case to delivery housing.

☒ The proposal will not change how service users experience existing services or benefits - e.g., opening hours or travel arrangements.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why:

☒ The proposal will not lead to new or increased costs for service users or employees.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why:

☒ There will be no changes to staffing structures or staff terms or conditions.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why:

☒ If we consult on the proposal, this will be accessible for disabled people. We will engage people with different protected characteristics.

• If you cannot tick this, please explain why:

Potential impact for each protected characteristic

People of different ages

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for people of different ages? The Policy promotes delivery of housing for all age groups. No negative impacts identified.

Disabled people

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for disabled people? The Policy will promote delivery of all forms of housing including for those with disabilities. No negative impacts identified.

People from different ethnic groups

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for different ethnic groups? The Policy will promote delivery of all forms of housing available to occupants from all ethnic groups. No negative impacts identified.

People with different sexual orientations

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for people with different sexual orientations? The Policy will promote delivery of all forms of housing available to occupants irrelevant of sexual orientation. No negative impacts identified.

Women and men

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for women or men? The Policy will promote delivery of all forms of housing available to occupants irrelevant of gender. No negative impacts identified.

Non-binary, gender-fluid and transgender people

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for non-binary, gender fluid or transgender people? The Policy will promote delivery of all forms of housing available to occupants irrelevant of gender. No negative impacts identified.

People with different religions and beliefs

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for people with different religions or beliefs? The Policy will promote delivery of all forms of housing available to occupants irrelevant of religion or beliefs. No negative impacts identified.

Care leavers

Will the proposal promote equality and not create disadvantage for care leavers? The Policy will promote delivery of all forms of housing available including for specific disadvantaged cohorts such as care leavers. No negative impacts identified.

Additional information

Community-Led Housing (CLH) can play a key role in supporting the borough's wider strategic aims by providing locally-driven, affordable homes that help meet the area's diverse housing needs. Additional funding will support local groups in progressing schemes for delivery.

Mitigating actions/reasonable adjustments

The policy seeks to simplify the application process, offering capacity-building support, making communications accessible, providing flexible upfront funding, and ensuring a fair, transparent assessment processes. These measures remove barriers for small or volunteer-led groups, support groups with limited resources or experience, and help ensure community-led housing projects across Great Yarmouth can progress successfully.

Conclusion

This proposal is assessed to have the following impact:

☒ Positive impact on people with protected characteristics.

☐ Detrimental impact on people with protected characteristics that can be mitigated.

☐ Detrimental impact on people with protected characteristics that cannot be fully mitigated.

☐ Positive and detrimental impacts on people with protected characteristics.

☐ No impacts on people with protected characteristics.

Evidence used to inform this assessment

Select all that apply:

☐ Great Yarmouth population data (provide links to any population data you draw upon, e.g. Norfolk's Story):

☒ Data about existing or future service users - please state:

• Homelessness statistics, and information on the profile of households requiring homes in the Borough

☐ Data about the workforce - please state:

☐ Legislation - please state:

☐ National/local research - please state:

☒ Consultation

• Discussions with community groups who are considering delivering housing

☐ Consultancy - please state:

☐ Advice from in-house/external experts - please state:

☐ Other - please state:

Administration information