Affordable Housing Programme

Affordable Housing Programme

BOROUGH OF POOLE

RESOURCES OVERVIEW GROUP

REPORT OF HEAD OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

7th September 2006

AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMME

  1. Purpose of the Report

1.1To respond to the motion raised at the Council meeting on 11th April 2006 and to direct Members to information made publicly available about the Affordable Housing Programme in Poole.

  1. Recommendations

2.1Members are asked to note the information contained in the report.

  1. Background

3.1The Housing Corporation announced the opening of the National Affordable Housing Programme bidding round in September 2005. Bids were invited from qualifying organisations, which for the first time included developers as well as Housing Associations. The bid round closed on 23rd October 2005.

3.2Officers reported to Community Support Overview Group on 22nd November 2005 on the detail of the programme of bids that Housing and Community Services intended to support.

3.3Officers then reported to Cabinet on 7th March 2006 with a more detailed report showing the bids which had been accepted by the Housing Corporation, and outlining the Council resources which would be required to secure the funding allocations. Members were advised that these details were subject to confirmation from the Housing Corporation following ministerial approval of the national programme.

3.4It was not appropriate at this time to release the list of sites to the public in view of the fact that the programme was still to be agreed by the minister, as well as the fact that the information contained in the list posed a likely impact on land values if released at that time.

3.5The programme comprises of £16,411,695 of public funding; £14,850,969 Housing Corporation Social Housing Grant, and £1,560,726 of Borough of Poole funding, delivering 287 units. 192 (67%) of these are rented units, with 95 (33%) shared ownership units. In terms of value for money, the programme shows an average level of public subsidy per unit, of £57,183.

3.6The motion raised suggests that the Council is providing financial support for sites across the entire programme. It should be noted that the only sites included in this programme which are to receive financial support from the Council are those which are marked as including OPS (Other Public Subsidy) in list at appendix a. The sites supported by Borough of Poole Capital Finance are all Council owned.

3.7As a result of the fact that the Housing Corporation allocates funding on a bi-annual basis, when putting a programme of bids together, officers work with Housing Association partners in order to maximise funding drawn into the town in order to enable affordable housing delivery. This often results in Housing Associations making speculative bids at a level of grant which could secure other substitute sites should the bid sites fall through, or become impossible to deliver within key milestones.

3.8As a result of this approach, the Borough has secured the opportunity to deliver 287 affordable homes, however, it is unlikely that all of the sites included in the programme upon announcement, will be those delivered across the two years.

  1. Programme Information

4.1Following ministerial consent, in April 2006 the Housing Corporation confirmed allocations made by region. This information is available on their website and so can be accessed by the public. The list for Poole as shown on the site is attached as appendix a. The web link for this information is;

4.2Housing and Community Services closely monitor the programme in order to ensure delivery of units by using key milestones in the development process. These milestones are also closely monitored by the Housing Corporation. Any delays require explanation and action plans to bring the sites back on track to deliver. If this is not possible, officers will seek to switch the allocations to alternative sites, if available, but there is always a very real risk that the allocation could be lost. Any changes to the programme will be approved by Cabinet.

SIMON HENDEY

HEAD OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Officer Contact – Kelly Ansell, Housing Resources Manager

Appendices

  1. Housing Corporation Schedule of Sites
  2. Housing and Community Services Programme Monitoring
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