Agenda item

7.1

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director, Communities, and the Executive Director, Place, which provided the Committee with information on the delivery of new/additional Council homes, through either acquisition or new build, which was one of the top priorities for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan. 

7.2

In attendance for this item were Liam Duggan, HRA Business Plan Team Manager, Dave Mason, Housing and Regeneration, and Christine Rose, Regeneration Manager.

7.3

Members made various comments and asked a number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:-

·                The Sheffield Strategic Housing Market Assessment showed that 725 additional affordable properties were needed every year.  This took account of the newly forming households in the City.

·                Initially, around 600 new/additional units were forecast in the coming six years, but officers were looking at ways of expanding that figure.  New building was limited by the amount of land available, with only a handful of larger HRA sites being left.

·                The 600 increase was a gross figure and did not take into account the impact of continued Right To Buy (RTB) sales.

·                The projected new build and acquisitions for Council housing was a minimum of 600 over six years, with the RTB forecast being around 250 sales per year over the next three years.

·                If new Council houses were built they could be sold under RTB, but for the first 15 years there was some protection to the Council via the cost floor rule.  This prevented new homes being sold for less than the cost of building/acquiring them.

·                RTB should be viewed as a risk but one that has been factored into the business plan.

·                Information was received from the Council Housing Service on the demand for properties and the new build project was seeking to address the gaps identified in local provision.  The data also informed future acquisitions.

·                The projected Phase One New Build timetable of 18 months, as set out in the report, was about what would be expected for schemes of this size.  It was important to note that some parts of this work wouldn’t have to be repeated for future phases.

·                One of the risks to the Council Housing New Build project was                           that building materials were becoming more expensive.                                  

·                Phase Two of the New Build project was proposed to comprise mostly family homes.

·                The Council had acquired some properties from the Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) but the SHC’s primary purpose was to build and sell homes at market value.  It was considered that the market was starting to pick up for SHC.  60 hectares of HRA land had been earmarked for the SHC.

·                Lower value HRA sites were being used for new Council housing, where the new schemes could have a regeneration impact.

·                One of the remaining large HRA sites, Adlington in Parson Cross, was being considered for an Extra Care facility for older people.  It was hoped that this would free up homes for families.

·                The aim of the Housing Delivery Investment Plan was to increase the rate of housing delivery and to have a plan for which sites would be delivered through which route, including new Council housing.

7.4

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       thanks Liam Duggan, Dave Mason and Christine Rose for their contribution to the meeting;

(b)       notes the contents of the report and responses to questions;

(c)        recommends that any Housing Revenue Account land should be prioritised for building Council properties, subject to the Council having sufficient funding; and

(d)       requests officers to explore the use of covenants to protect properties from Right to Buy.