The new Housing Strategy 2020 – 2025 is an important strategic building block of all the futures housing plans, and reflects the council’s key policy documents including Corporate Plan and Regeneration Strategy which focus on economic growth and area regeneration, bringing new prosperity and better jobs to the Island.

The Isle of Wight is an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it is one of the most beautiful and attractive places to live and visit in England. The Island currently faces a unique opportunity to address its housing needs for the future. We will deliver a sustainable housing strategy that reflects our Island status and the needs of local people and businesses and allows our unique local heritage of landscapes. There is pressure on housing is rising and we found some evidence of this in the rise in homelessness. We wish to give them better solutions to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place and are nonetheless committed to ensuring that help is in place if the worst happens.  We know that economy will be benefited from the additional housing demand and activity generated by tackling these issues. We know there is a particular need to recruit and retain skilled people to work in essential public services.

In the longer-term economic sustainability of the Island, and a lack of suitable housing is identified as a barrier to this. This Housing Strategy commits the Isle of Wight Council to promote the development of new homes as part of our wider Regeneration Strategy. This new Housing Strategy is an important strategic building block of all our futures and key policy documents including our Corporate Plan and Regeneration Strategy which focuses on economic growth and area regeneration, bringing new prosperity and better jobs to the Island. The strategy focuses on providing housing to meet the needs of our current population of around 140,000 and those that are projected to come over the next 5 years.