Development of Council owned sites for housing

Descriptions

Amendments have been to the description field to clarify the scope of this opportunity.

This is a new and exciting opportunity to deliver inclusive housing across a number of vacant sites owned by Surrey County Council (SCC) in various locations across the county. To address the complex and challenging housing environment that Surrey and many other parts of the country are facing SCC wants to take an innovative approach to use its own surplus sites to develop more general needs housing as well as housing specifically for people with mental health needs. The housing shortage in Surrey has a negative impact on the lives of local residents, local businesses and local public services and entrenches the hardships that Surrey's most vulnerable residents face. The mental health system is under huge pressure in Surrey and to support the system and enable people to recover from a period of mental ill health SCC wants to develop more self contained units for people with a mental health need. This will improve outcomes for people and enable people to move through the health and social care system at a pace that best suits their ability to become more independent.

The Council developed a Right Homes, Right Support Strategy for all working age adults who may require support and accommodation and the strategy also includes a mental health programme. This programme identified via thorough data analysis and research that Surrey required between an additional 185 to 210 units for people with mental health needs by 2030 to meet the projected demand. The work also established that the majority of the additional units required, needed to be self contained. Self contained accommodation was identified by people with lived experience as being the optimum service configuration to support people achieve the best outcomes for themselves. The existing market in Surrey has not been able to respond to these requests and therefore the Council has decided to partly meet this gap by using its own vacant sites and also with the aim to stimulate the market to develop more self contained services.

The Council's Cabinet approved this approach at its Cabinet meeting on 27th May 2025, see link below to the decision.

https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=42736