Council looks to future with CHS+ business plan

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Housing teams and tenants are looking to the future to develop and shape their services in line with modern day demands.

With the UK Government driving social housing reform, and the council’s £203million Carmarthenshire Homes Standard (CHS) programme drawing to a close, Housing chiefs are finding out what really matters to tenants in developing their next three-year business plan.

The plan was launched today (Tuesday, August 5, 2014) at the National Eisteddfod where visitors had the opportunity to learn more and ask the project team questions.

With over 70 per cent of the CHS complete – a programme that will be fully delivered by 2015 – officers and tenants have now embarked on a journey to plan the next phase, creating new opportunities, embracing new technology and maintaining standards.

As part of the planning, tenants are being asked to envisage how they will live their lives in 10-years time – what technologies they will be using and how their homes will be run.

Carmarthenshire Homes Standard Manager Jonathan Morgan said: “Tenants are playing an integral role in helping us shape services and prepare for the future.

“We’ve achieved great things through the Carmarthenshire Homes Standard programme and it’s now time to move on – we don’t want to stand still.”

Cllr Tegwen Devichand, Executive Board Member for Housing, said the CHS+ programme will open up exciting opportunities for tenants, despite the overall challenges being faced by local councils in Wales.

“Local Government in Wales will be facing difficult and challenging times in the years ahead but for every challenge emerges opportunity,” she said. “The CHS+ demonstrates how we will work with our tenants and all key stakeholders to create new opportunities, ensuring we continue to deliver services of the highest standard, invest where we need to invest and have as big an impact as possible.”