Agenda item

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

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves the Council-owned sites listed in Appendix 3 being brought forward to deliver new Council homes.

2.    Approves the appropriation of specified General Fund sites to the Housing Revenue Account. Further detail about the sites proposed for appropriation is provided in Appendix 4.

3.    Approves the purchase of homes from any of the schemes identified in Exempt Appendix 5.

4.    Notes that authority to purchase up to 100 homes from the market has been delegated to the Assistant Director for Housing following approval of the Housing Acquisitions Policy Cabinet report on 16 October 2023. The 100 homes provision is now reflected in Exempt Appendix 5. 

5.    Notes that the East Herringthorpe Small Sites scheme is now delivering the principles of the January 2019 Cabinet report “Delivery of 12 Bungalows using Modern Methods of Construction” and approve that the associated budget allocation is allocated back to the wider housing delivery programme to support Council delivery on other sites.

6.    Agrees to continue to receive an update on the housing development programme every six months.

Consideration was given to the report which set out the proposals in relation to the Housing Delivery Programme 2024-25. These proposals would continue to support the delivery of hundreds of new Council homes by March 2026, through a combination of development on Council-owned land and the acquisition of homes from the private sector. Appendix 3 provided a list of sites proposed for development, including several further sites held within the Council’s General Fund, details of which were at Appendix 4. Exempt Appendix 5 provided a list of potential acquisition opportunities.

Cabinet  was also asked to note that the East Herringthorpe Small Sites scheme was now delivering against the principles of the 2019 Cabinet report “Delivery of 12 Bungalows using Modern Methods of Construction”.

From January 2018 to November 2023, the Council had successfully delivered 505 affordable homes; 379 homes for rent and 126 homes for shared ownership:

385 of these homes had been delivered through Council-led construction.

16 homes had resulted from conversion of existing Council assets into new homes, and 104 were from the acquisition of homes from private developers and the open market.

The Council had also built 125 new homes for market sale. A photographic summary of delivery achieved during this period was provided in Appendix 2. Further progress was outlined at paragraph 1.5 of the report.

To retain alignment with the principles of the 2019 approval, 2 of the sites, Hounsfield Crescent and Hounsfield Road, were subsequently brought into the East Herringthorpe Small Sites development, approved by Cabinet in September 2020. These sites were now in build and would deliver 2, two-bed bungalows along with a four-bed Wheelchair User Dwelling, with 10 homes being built in total utilising Modern Methods of Construction (MMC.) The original Symonds Avenue site remained in the programme but only a smaller section was developable. Cabinet was therefore asked to note that the East Herringthorpe Small Sites scheme was now delivering against principles of the “MMC Bungalows” proposals, and that the associated MMC Bungalows budget provision would be allocated back to the wider programme to support Council delivery on other sites. The MMC Bungalows budget included a provision for grant funding, therefore, the net value of monies to be directly re-allocated back into the programme would be lower than the budget.

During the meeting Councillor Allen expressed her pride in the Housing Delivery Programme. The Programme had delivered 630 homes to date, included a mixed portfolio of excellent quality homes that were of different sizes and tenures. There continued to be a very high demand for Council housing and the Right To Buy Scheme continued to erode the housing stock. However, one home had recently been bought back under the Right To Buy – Right of First Refusal scheme. Councillor Allen also explained that, through the Housing Development Programme, the Council aimed to have delivered around 1,000 new homes by March 2026.

Councillor Cusworth noted the amazing progress and stated she was very proud of the housing being provided.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves the Council-owned sites listed in Appendix 3 being brought forward to deliver new Council homes.

2.    Approves the appropriation of specified General Fund sites to the Housing Revenue Account. Further detail about the sites proposed for appropriation is provided in Appendix 4.

3.    Approves the purchase of homes from any of the schemes identified in Exempt Appendix 5.

4.    Notes that authority to purchase up to 100 homes from the market has been delegated to the Assistant Director for Housing following approval of the Housing Acquisitions Policy Cabinet report on 16th October, 2023. The 100 homes provision was now reflected in Exempt Appendix 5.

5.    Notes that the East Herringthorpe Small Sites scheme was now delivering the principles of the January 2019 Cabinet report “Delivery of 12 Bungalows using Modern Methods of Construction” and approve that the associated budget allocation is allocated back to the wider housing delivery programme to support Council delivery on other sites.

6.    Agrees to continue to receive an update on the housing development programme every 6 months.