Creating a safer, more diverse Derby: A year in review

Published: 14 May 2024

Councillor Shiraz Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Property and Regulatory Services, looks back over the past twelve months in administration.

As I reflect on my first year as Cabinet Member for Housing, Property and Regulatory Services, I’m delighted with the progress I have seen as we continue to build a Derby that we can all be proud of.

We have committed  to our promise of getting better control of HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupancy), and a consultation on proposals to change the planning process for HMOs of all sizes is currently underway. This will give residents the chance to have their say on how these properties are affecting their area.

For those living in private rented accommodation, we have been pushing on with our commitment to create a Good Landlord’s Charter that includes minimum housing standards for all tenants. We’ve already completed the first stage of consultation and are making good progress.

Expanding our stock of affordable housing has been at the heart of our efforts to build a diverse and inclusive city. In January, Cabinet approved a new development of 36 new properties near Grange Avenue led by Derby Homes. A further 75 homes are being built at Goodsmoor Road by Nottingham Community Housing Association, and I was able to visit the Castleward development to celebrate the construction of 73 new homes managed by The Riverside Group.

In March, we secured two lots of funding to further expand our homelessness provision and improve the health and wellbeing of some of our more vulnerable residents.

£1.1m was secured through the Single Homeless Accommodation Programme that will provide new properties to help young people who are rough sleeping or at risk of sleeping rough, while a further £1.25m will provide housing for homeless adults with complex physical and mental health needs.

Our Trading Standards team continues to work hard to keep our city safe, and over the past year have carried out regular inspections on imported food, tackled the sale of vapes to underage buyers, and kept dangerous and illicit products out of consumers shopping baskets.

Personally, I have worked hard to make more information available to planning and licensing committee members, allowing them to make more informed decisions that put our residents first. 

Looking ahead, we will continue to work on a new Local Plan for Derby to ensure that future developments will continue to meet the needs of our residents. In February we shared some of our initial proposals with citizens and later this year will be sharing the full proposals for consultation.

Over the past year there has been a lot of exciting progress in the Housing, Property and Regulatory Services portfolio, and I look forward to seeing further progress as we enter our second year of leadership.

Community, Housing