Plans to invest an additional £130,000 for the council’s housing service to ensure residents are supported to find a home have been approved.

Providing affordable homes that meets residents’ needs and ensuring the bidding process is simple is a key priority for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s new Cabinet.

To support residents in making an application to get onto the borough’s housing register, an additional £130,000 of funding was allocated for two new housing officers at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 5 September, from funding held to support the delivery of the Council Plan priorities.

The new officers will work closely with residents to understand their needs when making an application and also provide additional support to those who need it when they are bidding for new homes through the council’s social rented lettings system, Homebid.

Councillors on the Scrutiny Committee are due to get an update on the council’s housing allocation scheme, which sets out how social housing in the borough is allocated by need, at a meeting today (19 September).

In September, there were 4,900 people currently on the housing register waiting to be matched to a home.

Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services and Housing Cllr Laura James said: “The growing number of people on the housing register, the waiting time for properties to become available and the growing gap between the cost of renting privately and what residents can afford is making finding a home even more challenging.

“Our priority is doing everything we can to make it easier for people to get onto the housing register and to ensure their application reflects the needs they have. Our additional investment will ensure our housing team can work more closely with residents when joining the housing register and support them when bidding for a home.”

For more information about the housing options available in the borough, visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/housing