Issue - decisions

Date of Decision:

2 June 2023

Title:

East Herringthorpe Small Sites Housing Development

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

James Clark, Assistant Director of Housing

Details of Specific Cabinet Delegation

or Delegation contained in the relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.

Enaction of recommendation 1 from the September 2020 Annual Housing Development Report.

The Cabinet, 21 September 2020, minute 52(1):

That Cabinet approves the release of the Council owned sites listed in Appendix 3a for early residential development, subject to development being undertaken directly for council stock with the Council retaining ownership of the land and homes, or by a registered social landlord with the Council retaining tenancy nomination rights where this is deemed to offer better value, and subject to written confirmation of agreement by the relevant Ward Members.

The September 2020 report marked the launch of an annual programme reporting cycling, with the latest iteration of the programme having been most recently considered by Cabinet January 2023.

The Cabinet, 23 January 2023, minute 104(1):

That Cabinet approved the Council-owned sites listed in Appendix 3 being brought forward to deliver new Council homes.

and further to approval of the subsequent Full Business Case – East Herringthorpe Small Sites Cluster Housing Development, approved 2 June 2023 in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing.

Decision:

Approval to enter into contract with RH Fulwoods to construct 10 new homes in East Herringthorpe.

That 40% of the project cost is funded by Right to Buy ‘1-4-1’ receipts.

The homes are let on Social Rents in-line with the strategic preference to maximise affordability for residents.

Reasons for the Decision:

The decision has been taken in-line with the Cabinet approval, to ensure that the Council can continue to deliver new council homes to meet residents’ needs.

Right to Buy ‘1-4-1’ receipts will form the main subsidy contribution toward this scheme because:

a)    The homes are high specification and there is an acute viability gap which will be best met through the inclusion of RTB 1-4-1 receipts which can contribute up to 40% of the cost

b)    RTB 1-4-1 receipts are timebound, meaning they have to be deployed within a set timeframe otherwise they are repaid to government

c)    The government has recently introduced a cap on the number of acquisitions which can be funded with RTB 1-4-1 receipts, meaning that more receipts need to be deployed into Council build schemes

Social Rents are lower than Affordable Rents and it is the Council’s strategic preference to make council homes as affordable for our residents as possible, meaning that the homes are to be let on Social Rents rather than Affordable Rents. Whilst this impacts upon scheme viability, it is considered that this approach can be supported for this scheme, within the context of the longer-term Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

The September 2020 Cabinet report considered a number of alternative options, including not to bring forward any new proposed housing development schemes. This was not recommended because it would not achieve any of the benefits provided by supporting housing growth, would make it significantly more difficult for the Council to achieve its corporate and national targets and means that there would be no mitigation against Council’s social housing stock being lost as a result of the Right to Buy.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Cabinet Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

None declared

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

N/A

Reports or parts of reports considered

Report of the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health – Annual Housing Development Report – 2020/21 (original report).

Report of the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health – Housing Development Programme Report – 2023/24 (latest report).

Full Business Case – East Herringthorpe Small Sites Cluster Housing Development.