Issue - meetings

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Hanson and Leytham)

Joint Report of the Head of Regeneration & Policy and Head of Health and Housing

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Hanson and Leytham)

Cabinet received a joint report from the Head of Regeneration and Policy and the Head of Health and Housing which sought approval for the preferred direction for strategic housing and regeneration priorities in light of the current financial climate, existing housing regeneration commitments and the introduction of self financing for council housing.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

The council potentially had two main options to consider in the current circumstances, although should new funding become available in the future it could revise its options. 

Option 1: To do nothing and rely on the private sector to engage in housing supply. As a result to dispose of the properties already bought (within Chatsworth Gardens and Bold Street/Marlborough Road) and undertake no regeneration. 

This option would mean that the council would seek to minimise its risk by avoiding engaging in further regeneration work.  It has acquired 56 properties using external funding and would seek to dispose of them on the open market to remove liabilities amounting to just over £100,000 per annum which arise from securing and maintaining the properties.  It would be highly unlikely that any element of profits from sales would be achieved, and more likely that sales would result in a notional financial loss. The only level of affordable housing provision the council would then influence would be through restrictions on planning decisions requiring private sector provision.

Advantages:  Removal of liabilities from continuing to own the properties, and avoiding the need to spend further monies to undertake refurbishment as part of a regeneration programme. 

Disadvantages:  The council would not be engaging in housing regeneration.  It would be placing a further burden on the local housing stock by adding a significant number of unfit properties onto the market and it would fail to add value to the money already spent by public funding to make greater use of the existing housing stock to provide good quality new homes.

Option 2:  To work up a means of engaging in housing provision targeted towards affordable housing using a variety of methods.

This will consist of  a variety of means including: a) allocating land in the Local Development Framework and securing contributions from Section 106 agreements and eventually through Community Infrastructure levy, b) opportunities arising from the self financed Housing Revenue Account coming into effect from April 2012, c) examining options for the completion of outstanding housing regeneration projects at Chatsworth Gardens and Marlborough Road/ Bold Street and d) the provision of the Lend a Hand mortgage support scheme.  If as indicative figures show, the HRA business plan can viably support and contribute to the regeneration and provision of additional council homes, it may also be worth considering it as an alternative solution to finance the refurbishment of the empty properties in current regeneration schemes, bringing other empty properties back into use, and to construct  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48