Council Homes and Neighbourhoods to be Proud Of

Our priority is to ensure our homes are safe, warm, well-managed, and fit for the future. We are committed to making things better through targeted investment, improving energy efficiency, strengthening repairs and compliance, and ensuring residents have a stronger voice in shaping services.

We will also make better use of our existing homes by supporting mobility and addressing under-occupation, ensuring our housing continues to meet changing needs.

Driving Improvement in Our Homes and Housing Services

Bury Council is taking a proactive and long-term approach to strengthening its role as landlord and improving housing services across the borough. Following the return of services in-house, the council has taken the opportunity to fully understand its current position, listen to tenants, and build a clear and robust evidence base to guide future decisions.

This has enabled the council to move quickly to put in place clear plans, strengthen governance and oversight, and align housing services with wider corporate priorities. A comprehensive programme of improvement is now underway, supported by long-term financial planning through the Housing Revenue Account and a renewed focus on performance, quality, and value for money.

Progress is already being made. Services are becoming more consistent, compliance and performance are improving, and a stronger, more coordinated approach is being embedded across key areas including asset management, repairs, tenant engagement, and support.

A key part of this is strengthening the council's approach to rent collection. Rental income is essential to maintaining and improving homes and services, and there is a clear expectation that tenants pay their rent. At the same time, the council will continue to support those who are struggling, providing early help, advice, and intervention to sustain tenancies.

At the same time, the council is taking steps to ensure that its housing stock is fit for the future, maintaining and improving existing homes, while also making strategic decisions about where regeneration, redevelopment, and new supply are needed to meet demand.

The council recognises that this is a significant and ongoing programme of change. While some improvements will take time to fully embed, the direction is clear and momentum is building. With strong foundations now in place, Bury is well positioned to continue this progress, delivering high-quality homes, reliable services, and better outcomes for residents.

Investing in Our Homes for the Long Term

£60 million committed over 3 years to meet the Decent Homes Standard.

£17 million committed for sustainability improvements.

We have a clear long-term plan through the refreshed 30-year Housing Revenue Account Plan, providing a strong financial framework to manage and improve the housing stock while sustaining high-quality homes and services.

The plan recognises growing financial pressures, including rising costs and increased regulatory requirements, but sets out a proactive response focused on strengthening resilience and maintaining investment. Key actions include improving efficiency, maximising value for money, strengthening procurement, and making better use of asset data to target investment.

Maximising rental income is central to this approach, with a more consistent focus on collection alongside continued support for tenants to sustain their tenancies.

We have both a clear understanding of the challenges and a defined plan to address them, with a focus on delivering sustainable investment, improving housing quality, and maintaining a resilient housing service.

Our Asset Management Strategy

We are currently strengthening our approach to asset management, with work already underway to improve the way we use evidence to manage and invest in our housing stock. A new Asset Management Strategy is planned for development over the coming months and will provide a clear framework for proactive investment planning, helping to ensure homes remain safe, compliant, and fit for the future.

While significant investment is already being made, including to meet Decent Homes and sustainability requirements, this is taking place in the context of growing financial and regulatory pressures. A key challenge has been limited data integration, which has constrained the ability to fully understand stock condition and target investment effectively.

In response, the council is strengthening its evidence base through a comprehensive stock condition survey and upgrades to its housing management system. This will enable a more intelligence-led approach, supporting better decisions about where to invest and how to align housing provision with resident needs.

Our focus is on embedding this data-driven approach to ensure investment is targeted, efficient, and aligned to long-term sustainability, improving outcomes for residents and the housing service.

Safety, Compliance, and Making the Best of Our Homes

Bury's Housing Repairs and Maintenance Service is undergoing a comprehensive review to improve performance, strengthen compliance, and deliver a more reliable, tenant-focused service. This is driving a structured improvement programme focused on improving data quality, reducing repeat repairs, strengthening performance management, and making better use of resources.

The intended outcomes are a more efficient and consistent service, faster and more effective repairs, improved customer experience, and stronger compliance across all homes, including a robust response to damp and mould. This will also reduce backlogs, improve first-time fix rates, and ensure resources are targeted where they have the greatest impact.

Overall, this will deliver a modern, high-performing repairs service that supports long-term sustainability and delivers better outcomes for tenants.

Reimagining Council Housing

We will make the best use of council-owned land, existing estates, and underused sites to deliver more homes wherever opportunities arise. This means reviewing our housing stock and land assets to identify where new, modern homes can be built, where existing homes can be improved, and where redevelopment would provide better outcomes for residents.

This is about more than supply; it is an opportunity to reimagine what council housing looks and feels like in Bury. We want our estates to be places people are proud to call home, with high quality design, well-maintained public spaces, strong community infrastructure, and a genuine sense of place. Raising the quality of our council housing offer is central to this strategy.

Our Approach to Estate Regeneration

• Infill development within existing estates to increase supply without wholesale change.
• Demolition and redevelopment where homes are no longer fit for purpose or the future.
• Repurposing underused or inefficient sites for new housing.
• Making better use of council-owned land to increase housing supply.
• Delivering mixed-tenure schemes with Registered Providers and private partners.
• Investing in the design and liveability of estates, streets, green space, communal areas, and community facilities - to create neighbourhoods people want to live in.
• Ensuring new and redeveloped council homes meet modern standards for space, accessibility, energy efficiency, and design quality.

A long-term delivery partnership will provide the additional capacity and expertise needed to accelerate delivery alongside existing partners, bringing together the skills, investment, and ambition needed to transform Bury's housing estate for the next generation.

Tenant Voice and Influence — Putting Residents at the Heart of Housing Services

Bury Council will strengthen the role of tenants in shaping housing services, moving from engagement to genuine influence. Building on existing opportunities for involvement, the focus will be on ensuring that tenant feedback directly informs decisions, drives service improvement, and strengthens accountability.

Clearer routes will be established to demonstrate how tenant views lead to change, supported by stronger scrutiny, more transparent decision-making, and better integration of tenant voice within governance and performance.

A priority will be ensuring a diverse range of voices are heard, including those who are less likely to engage.

Through this approach, tenants will have a more visible and meaningful role in shaping services, policies and priorities, ensuring housing services are more responsive, accountable, and aligned with the needs of residents.

Joined Up Working to Improve Outcomes for Residents

As a council, we deliver a wide range of services in partnership and are well placed to take a joined-up approach to maximise the value of our housing stock and improve outcomes for residents. By working closely across services and with key partners, housing will play a central role in supporting wellbeing, independence, and the more efficient use of resources.

A key priority is strengthening alignment between housing, adult social care, and wider services, ensuring that housing and support are better coordinated. This will help reduce reliance on more costly interventions, including temporary accommodation and specialist provision, while enabling residents to access the right home and support at the right time.

The council will also strengthen links between housing and the Live Well offer, ensuring tenants can access coordinated support to sustain their tenancies, remain independent, and improve their overall wellbeing.

Through this approach, residents will be better supported to live well in their homes for longer, while demand on higher-cost services is reduced through earlier and more effective intervention.

Ageing Well at Home

Bury's population is ageing, and the social housing sector reflects this. Around a quarter of tenants are permanently sick or disabled, and many more are older people with growing support needs. Over the lifetime of the strategy, we will:

The Long-Term Future of Social Housing

Social housing in Bury is evolving. Households present with more complex needs, and there is growing demand for housing that not only provides a home but supports stability, wellbeing, and independence. We want to ensure we help the right people and will review how our homes are allocated in a way that: