What We Do

What does Living Lincolnshire do?

Living Lincolnshire is a partnerhip of Local Authorities and Housing Associations in Lincolnshire. The partnerhip exists to increase the supply of affordable homes in rural Lincolnshire. We do this through:

A partnership board - The membership of the board involves those organizations who have a key role in delivering rural affordable housing; local authorities, RSLs (Housing Associations), Community Lincs. It may involve private sector organizations. Elected members may also be part of Board arrangements.

It is responsible for delivering the partnership's aim and any associated targets. To achieve this, the Board:

• applies their individual and collective resources to achieving the partnership's aims
•  provides a ‘rural voice' in the development of local and regional policy and funding strategies that affect rural delivery, including through the ‘single conversation'
• develops and applies mechanisms that will meet the partnership's aims
• undertakes or commissions research that directly relates to improving delivery
• undertakes performance monitoring and review and take action to ensure targets are met.

An agreed performance management framework - This is usually based on the need to achieve LAA targets for the delivery of rural affordable housing. The performance framework allows for monitoring of progress. Consequential reviews lead to partners taking steps that will unlock any barriers to delivery. It also is used as a line management tool, helping to define tasks and targets for those responsible for different elements of delivery, including Rural Housing Enablers.

Efficient use of enabling resources – this includes Rural Housing Enablers, relevant local authority housing and planning officers and RSL development staff. It could include making greater use of the site finding and development skills of the private sector.

A consistent approach to pre-development stages including common standards – this includes site identification, engagement of communities, agreeing design and other planning requirements, turn around times.

Selected delivery partners – To date this has been applied to RSLs selected through joint commissioning or competition, the latter being used by East Lindsey. It could involve the private sector, perhaps extending the South Kesteven practice.

A programme approach to delivery – this requires a pipeline of schemes that contribute to one or more of the eight elements of a sustainable community, as defined by the UK Sustainable Development Strategy.

An agreed process for prioritizing and substituting schemes for funding - through agreeing a set of criteria that each scheme must meet to be considered for funding and ranking of schemes to assess the realism of delivery.