Agenda item

HRA Business Plan Update

Meeting of Housing Board, Thursday, 10th December, 2020 11.00 am, NEW (Item 5.)

To receive a verbal update on the HRA Business Plan.

Minutes:

The Assistant Director – Housing, Health and Communities and the Housing Strategy and Operations Manager provided a verbal update on the HRA Business Plan. They said that Covid-19 and Brexit had delayed Government responses to consultations. There remained uncertainties about how much income could be retained and the agreed timescales. This information should be conveyed by the end of December 2020. There was a need for a new Business Plan to be in place by April 2021. A skeleton had been put in place based on known information but it was not currently possible to include ambition.

Councillor Dean left the meeting at 12.02 pm.

Councillor Khan asked for an updated position in respect of the Council’s commitment to build 163 Council homes.

The Housing Strategy and Operations Manager referred members to the table that had been circulated following the previous Housing Board meeting. It had

detailed the numbers of properties that had been built or acquired by the HRA since the development programme had started. It also provided an overall figure that takes account of properties that had been demolished. It was agreed that the table below would be circulated within the minutes.

Year	New Builds	Acquisitions (Open market properties)	TOTAL New Build + Acquisitions	TOTAL Additions to UDC Stock (New Build + Acquisitions – Demolitions)	Notes
2013/14	12		12	12	Holloway Cres L Roding
2015/16	29 (4 transferred to general fund as temporary Homeless Accommodation)		29	10	Mead Court Stansted -Block of 19 sheltered bedsits demolished and replaced with general needs housing
2017/18	6	8	14	14	8 new build Catons Lane SW 8 acquisitions on Sec 106 site in Radwinter
2018/19	44	3	47	16	Reynolds Ct Newport -Block of 31 sheltered bedsits demolished replaced with high spec sheltered flats 3 new build Sheds Lane SW 3 open market properties
2017/20	2		2	1	Hatherley Ct SW
2019/20	8	6	14	14	4 Newport 4Dunmow new builds 6 open market properties
2020/21	16		16	4	The Moors Lt Dunmow 12 un-lettable bungalows demolished because of subsidence
2020/21	14		14	14	Thaxted Road SW
2020/21	1		1	1	Gold Close Elsenham
2020/22	13		13	13	Gt Chesterford
2020/22	14		14	14	Auton Croft SW
2020/22	3		3	0	Walden Place SW– selling Grade 2 listed building – replacing flats and communal areas.
2020/22	21		21	3	Parkside SW – demolish 18 substandard sheltered flats
2021/23	16		16	0	Alexia Gt Dunmow– demolish 20 substandard sheltered bedsits
2021/23	12		12	12	White Roding
2021/23	8		8	8	Takeley
2021/24	90		90	90	New sites to be identified
TOTAL	309	17	326	226

Figures in red are sites that are in the programme but yet to be completed

Figures in blue are sites yet to be identified

In respect of the commitment to build 163 Council homes, the Assistant Director – Housing and Environmental Services said that existing budgets and additional borrowing would be needed to enable these to be funded.

Councillor Coote said they were determined to deliver their commitment to build 163 homes. The Chair confirmed this commitment.

Councillor Reeve suggested that the possible ambitions could be documented as part of the next business plan, covering the range of possible borrowing options available.

The Housing Strategy and Operations Manager said that various scenarios had been taken forward with the Accountancy team and there was still a need to identify sites for 90 new homes as outlined in the table.

Councillor Lemon said that purchasing any land on the open market would be very expensive and that some consideration could be given towards looking at exception sites.