Issue - meetings

To consider a report and respond to the recommendations made by the Affordable Housing Working Group.

That during the development of the Housing Strategy for 2016-19 and the Local Plan to 2036:

  i.  The Council should actively promote the provision of affordable housing on exceptions sites to Town and Parish Councils.

  ii.  Where a Parish Council does not support an exceptions site, the Council should continue to fulfil its duty to meet identified affordable housing need.

  iii.  A systematic assessment should be carried out of all land to identify potential sites for affordable housing to then be matched to needs (Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment).

  iv.  The threshold for developments on which on-site affordable housing can be sought should be lowered from 15 to 10.

  v.  Agree to take legal advice to explore options to protect local houses for local people on rural development schemes through, amongst other things, covenants, joint ventures and charitable mechanisms.

(Councillor R Fuller, Chairman of Working Group was in attendance for this item).

The Cabinet received a report at the request of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Social Well-being) from the Policy, Performance and Transformation Manager (Scrutiny) (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) to consider and respond to the findings and final recommendations of the Affordable Housing Working Group.

The Chairman of Working Group, Councillor R Fuller, having been invited to present the report to the Cabinet, explained that the Working Group had originally been established in March 2014 by the Overview and Scrutiny (Social Well-being) Panel to investigate the policies and procedures of Registered Providers.  In July/August 2014 the Group’s remit was amended to undertake a study on affordable housing.

It was noted that there had been incidences where a Town or Parish Council had not supported an affordable development on an exceptions site which had resulted in the non-delivery of affordable housing.  The Cabinet agreed that early engagement with Town and Parish Councils was essential to prevent misinformation, to gain their support and to prevent pressure groups forming.  It was hoped that Ward Members would assist in this role.  However, in the event that a Town or Parish Council did not support a viable exceptions site, the Cabinet endorsed the view that the Council should take decisions that were in the best interests of the area and should fulfil its duty to meet identified affordable housing need.

The Cabinet supported that a systematic assessment should be conducted of all land to identify potential sites for affordable housing to then be matched to needs and noted that the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment was a significant task.

It was explained that the Working Group had considered Government initiatives and their impact on the supply of new affordable housing.  The policy target of 40% affordable housing still applied to all developments but there was the availability of negotiation where this was not viable.  The Cabinet noted that 40% affordable housing was being achieved on smaller developments.

During the discussions Councillor D Tysoe declared a non-statutory disclosable interest by virtue of being a Parish Council Clerk.

The Working Group had been informed that the Council could seek affordable housing contributions where there was a clear case of disaggregation of the site, where a developer intended to build on separate parts of a larger site over a long period. The Council’s current threshold was 15 homes on urban sites due to previous Government policy. The Cabinet supported the Working Group’s recommendation that the threshold for developments on which on-site affordable housing could be sought should be lowered from 15 to 10.

Whilst referring to Community Land Trusts, the Cabinet noted that the Working Group had been acquainted with examples of Community Land Trusts in various areas, including in East Cambridgeshire. The Cabinet concurred with the opinion of the Working Group that the Council should not devote this level of resource to encouraging Community Land Trusts in Huntingdonshire but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51

The Affordable Housing Working Group Report is to be presented to the Panel (To Follow).

The Affordable Housing Working Group Report (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) was presented to the Panel. Members were informed that the Working Group had covered everything within their remit and made recommendations in Item 6.2 of the report (as listed below):

·  The Council should actively promote the provision of affordable housing on exception sites to town and parish councils.

·  Where a parish council does not support an exceptions site, the Council should continue to fulfil its duty to meet identified affordable housing need.

·  A systematic assessment should be carried out of all land to identify potential sites for affordable housing to then be matched to needs (strategic housing land availability assessment).

·  The threshold for developments on which affordable housing can be sought should be lowered from 15 to 10.

The Chairman of the Working Group, Councillor Fuller, gave the Panel more background detail on the recommendations. Members were informed that the Strategic Housing Market Assessment identified a need for a further 8,000 affordable houses in Huntingdonshire over the Local Plan period however as almost two thirds of those on the Housing Register are in bands C and D/D* it was highly unlikely that Huntingdonshire would need to build 8,000 affordable houses.

The Working Group believed that rural exception sites was one way of providing affordable housing required within the villages for local residents.

The Working Group considered Community Land Trusts as promoted in East Cambridgeshire. However, the Working Group believed that this was not appropriate for Huntingdonshire as it would involve the input of a high level of resource for little progression. In conclusion the Working Group believed that the Council was doing well in providing affordable housing.

A Member was concerned that the second recommendation was too ‘dictatorial’ and should be written in a way which wasn’t dictatorial. In response the Panel was told that exception sites are put forward by the local community and only progressed where the Council had identified a need and there are residents on the Housing Register who requires the housing. The second recommendation was designed to capture those Parish Councils who despite identifying the site and the need for the site decide to withdraw from the process.

The Panel identified that the affordable housing threshold the Working Group proposed appeared to be different to Government policy. The reference to Government policy stated that on-site affordable housing can be sought on developments over 10 homes meaning on developments sized 11 homes and above. The Working Group had suggested that affordable housing provision should be sought on developments sized 10 homes and above. Members were told that this would be clarified before the recommendations go forward to Cabinet for consideration. It has since been confirmed that the Government had proposed a policy restricting on-site provision to sites of 10 homes and above but this has been quashed in the courts, subject to the Government appealing. The Cabinet report submitted reflects the current position.

In response to a question the Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46