Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the finalised capital investment proposals for Castle View Day Centre.

2.    Approve the development of the proposed supported accommodation model for Adult Social Care which includes two apartments, a larger property, and the required capital investment.

3.    Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, to progress and formalise the commissioned care model for the adult social care supported living properties, to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.

4.    Approve the development of 13 new homes for council rent, on Warden Street, to be funded from resources approved as part of the Council’s Housing Revenue Account.

5.    Approve the appropriation of land between the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account, as identified in Appendix 2, subject to Secretary of State consent.

6.    Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member to make amendments to the scheme design, where this is necessary to comply with Planning or other statutory consultee requirements, or where site conditions otherwise prescribe a design alteration.

Consideration was given to the report which sought approval from Cabinet to further develop the Council-owned Warden Street/Castle Avenue site in Canklow. It was stated that it would provide much needed housing and social care provision on a site that had been dormant for many years. The proposals included 2 adult care apartments and one larger property providing accommodation with support, along with 13 new homes for Council rent. It was also proposed that the finalised capital investment required for the Castle View Day Centre be approved.

Cabinet approved the construction of a new day centre facility in Canklow to replace the existing Learning Disability Day Service on 17th October, 2022. The new service would offer modern accessible day opportunities with multi-functional fit for purpose facilities that promoted independence, wellbeing and social inclusion. The Cabinet previously agreed an investment of £2.1m capital funding for the development of Castle View. However, the report at that time stated that this was only indicative build costs. Updated formal detailed estimated costed plans had now been provided by the procured contractor which totalled £5,917,386 for the ground works and build costs. Including an additional £500,000 cost for fitting out and furnishing the building upon handover, the total capital investment by the Council’s Adult Social Care

Service would be £6,417,386. An additional breakdown of the costs was set out in paragraph 2.5 of the report.

It was proposed that the accommodation with support solutions for people with complex needs be split into one seven-bed property and 2 two-bed apartments. Investment in accommodation with support within the Borough would address known gaps within the care sector, enable people to remain closer to home and maintain relationships which were important to them, ultimately enabling people to age and live well. The indicative funding requirement equated to a total of £1,902,690 and would be funded from the Council’s Adult Social Care Capital Fund. Full and accurate costings would be confirmed by March 2024 in accordance with the build programme plan.

The proposed new homes at Warden Street had been included in previous Housing Delivery Programme reports to Cabinet, meaning that use of the site for the purpose of new housing development had been approved. The report therefore sought approval from Cabinet to build a projected 13 new homes on Warden Street. Original forecasts for the site indicated potential for up to 25 new homes. However this had since been revised down because pre-application advice from the Planning Service identified that 25 homes could be considered over-development of the available area and the Housing service had been directly commissioned by the Adult Care Service to build 2 large, specialist supported dwellings which would reduce the land area available for these homes.

Given the absence of any local Council provision for older people or acute needs, the proposed scheme design comprised 12, two-bed apartments for older people along with a four-bed wheelchair user dwelling, designed to make best use of the available space.

Parts of the land at Castle Avenue/Warden Street were separately held in the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account respectively. To support the planned developments, appropriation of land between the General Fund and HRA would therefore be necessary. Appendix 1 identified the specific areas of land which were to be appropriated between the General Fund and HRA.

During the meeting, the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health confirmed that the current building used for the day service did not belong to the Council. By moving to a purpose-built, Council owned facility it would provide security for residents going forward.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the finalised capital investment proposals for Castle View Day Centre.

2.    Approve the development of the proposed supported accommodation model for Adult Social Care which includes 2 apartments, a larger property, and the required capital investment.

3.    Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, to progress and formalise the commissioned care model for the Adult Social Care Supported Living properties, to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.

4.    Approve the development of 13 new homes for Council rent, on Warden Street, to be funded from resources approved as part of the Council’s Housing Revenue Account.

5.    Approve the appropriation of land between the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account, as identified in Appendix 1, subject to Secretary of State consent.

6.    Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member to make amendments to the scheme design, where this is necessary to comply with Planning or other statutory consultee requirements, or where site conditions otherwise prescribe a design alteration.