Crawley Borough Council is supporting a major report, which aims to improve how council housing is managed and developed.

The Securing the Future of Council Housing, details the current issues in the system and calls on the government to make changes.

The report offers five solutions and more than 20 recommendations, from over 100 council landlords.

It has been submitted to the Ministry of Housing, communities and Local Government.

Tandridge District Council is proud to announce the completion of some of its first net zero carbon homes at Orrick Court in Caterham on the Hill.

The new affordable rented homes mark an important step towards reducing carbon emissions

Eco-friendly features in the home include; energy saving lights, better insulation and solar panels.

The properties will soon become homes for people on the Council Housing Register

Police in Crawley have handed out multiple behaviour orders to curb the town’s prolific offenders.

The orders are designed to reduce criminals’ offending as well as reducing the negative impact on residents.

Offenders who receive the orders have strict conditions they must adhere to, including not entering a certain premises, or being within a vicinity of an area.

Otherwise, they face being put behind bars.

Sussex police are appealing for witnesses after a pedestrian was killed in a collision in Cowfold.

Officers were called to the incident Bolney Road in the early hours of the morning on Saturday 1st September.

Despite paramedics and the public who commenced CPR, a 44-year-old man from West Chiltington – was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drug-driving and causing death by careless driving.

He remains in custody.

Anyone with information who can help the police with their enquiries are asked to contact them on 101.

The number of houses built in Crawley has fallen below the annual target for the first time since 2015 due to water neutrality rules which stop development.

The council traditionally has an enviable record in relation to housebuilding. Since 2015, the number of homes built in Crawley exceeds the Local Plan target by 30 per cent. Of the 1,212 affordable homes were built in Crawley between 2015/16 and 2022/23 – 47 per cent of all homes built over the period, which exceeds the council’s 40 per cent target.

The council’s Authority Monitoring Report, which details annual performance against planning policies, shows that the delivery of new housing has dropped below the Local Plan target for the first time since it was launched nine years ago.

In 2022/23, only 190 homes were completed in the town instead of the target of 340. Only 78 affordable homes were built in that year, which is 57 per cent of the annual target.

The single biggest factor has been the imposition of water neutrality by Natural England because of the impact of water extraction on the local environment. This prevents any development or change of use that increases water usage in Crawley. It requires developers, including the council, to demonstrate water savings elsewhere before development can progress.

This is one of the reasons why the council unanimously declared a housing emergency in February of this year. This constraint on development, at a time when the need for additional housing in the town has never been higher, is having significant impact on those in greatest need within the town.

The council wrote to the government in March in relation to the housing emergency but has received no response to date.