Wigan Borough Housing Strategy 2026
The refreshed Wigan Borough Housing Strategy sets out our housing plans and ambitions for 2026 to 2031, covering all tenures and types of homes. The strategy shines a light on the innovative work already happening across our Borough to provide quality homes and services for our residents, but recognises the remaining challenges – such as a shortage of affordable housing, and an increasing, diverse need for specialist and older persons accommodation – that we need to tackle.
Framed by our Progress with Unity Missions, the strategy sets out how we will work in genuine co-production with our key housing partners, residents, communities and businesses to deliver a strong, fair housing market, where all of our residents can access a safe, secure home that enables them to thrive.
Our Housing Strategy is structured through five key themes:
- Inclusive Housing Delivery – Housing Growth Aligned to Local Needs: Deliver 972 new homes each year, and ensure these are the right homes in the right places
- Creating Inclusive Housing Opportunities for Everyone: Ensure that everyone can access safe, affordable homes, intervening in the private rental sector to improve standards and provide tailored support
- Generational Unity – Housing that Supports Life Journeys: Ensure that the market delivers in relation to the growing needs for specialist and supported housing, whilst enabling our older residents to live well and independently in their own homes
- Council Leadership – Excellence as a Landlord: Provide high quality, tenant-focused services, invest in our homes, and make the best use of stock to meet housing need
- Resilient Communities – Healthy Homes in Thriving, Connected Neighbourhoods: Tackle fuel poverty and poor housing conditions to improve health outcomes for our residents, and promote efficient, low-carbon housing across new build schemes and retrofit initiatives.
Wigan Housing Needs Assessment (HNA)
The Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) 2024 provides an up-to-date evidence base to support the Council’s current and emerging Local Plan. It gives detailed, robust, and defensible evidence to help determine local housing priorities, and inform the Council’s forward plans and development.
This research encompasses an up-to-date analysis of the social, economic, housing and demographic characteristics of areas across the borough, and identifies the type and size of housing needs by tenure and household type, and considers the need for affordable housing and the size, type and tenure housing needs for specific groups within the borough.
The HNA has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and associated Planning Practice Guidance (PPG).
Supported and Specialist Housing Prospectus
Wigan Council’s Supported and Specialist Housing Prospectus sets out the nature and scale of need for supported and specialist housing in Wigan, identifying the gaps in provision and the type of accommodation required, which will need to be addressed through new development.
It sets out our plans and aspirations to expand the availability and range of good quality housing for particular groups of people in Wigan, and provides guidance and information to those who provide accommodation and services.
Our vision is for people in Wigan to be able to live as independently as possible in their own homes, in the place where they want to be and with their families and networks around them. We want to ensure people live in the right type of home for their needs, in the right place and with the right support, and believe that people with even the most intensive and complex health and social care needs should still have a range of choices open to them and be supported in the right accommodation.
We are committed to work in partnership with private developers, local communities, social enterprises and Registered Providers in order to meet the housing needs and aspirations of our residents. We are looking for partners, big and small, who share our ambition for improving and diversifying the Council’s offer for people requiring supported and specialist accommodation.
The Prospectus is intended to encourage and facilitate new developments which are financially viable and sustainable and should be used as a tool to focus discussions about future supply with the local authority. The Prospectus forms a key part of our broader Housing Strategy.