Issue - meetings

To receive a report by the Interim Corporate Director on Housing Development on Council Owned Sites.

Please note:  The appendices to the report are restricted. There will be a need to move to private session if the Cabinet wish to discuss their content.

Executive Councillor: R Fuller.

The Cabinet has:

a)  Approved the list of 13 parcels of land held by Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) and agreed to reclassify them as assets for sale;

b)  Approved that the Council sells the parcels of land for the delivery of affordable housing;

c)  Selected Longhurst Housing Group as the preferred housing development partner and enter into further discussions on each of the sites;

d)  Agreed the budget for the housing delivery programme;

e)  Delegated authority to the Leader in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources and Interim Corporate Director (Delivery) to approve the price (subject to RICS Valuation) and execute all associated legal and contractual processes and documentation;

f)  Delegated authority to the Leader in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources and the Interim Corporate Director (Delivery) to determine private rented homes or a capital receipt is received as payment for each of the land parcels; and

g)  Agreed that any remaining small land parcels in the Councils portfolio not involved in this disposal remain under consideration for future facilitation of the objectives of the Housing Strategy and wider economic development/growth options.

With the aid of a report by the Interim Corporate Director (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) and appendices (copies of which are appended in the Annex to the Minute Book) the Cabinet gave consideration to a proposal seeking to secure the disposal and development of parcels of land owned by the District Council for the delivery of affordable housing.

The Cabinet were reminded that should they wish to discuss the content of the appendices, to inform the Chairman so that the meeting could move to private session if required.

By way of background, the Chairman, as Executive Councillor for Housing and Economic Development, reported upon the aspirations of the Cabinet to make better use of the Council’s redundant land holdings. The proposals would seek to deliver affordable housing for the residents of Huntingdonshire and provide an ongoing revenue stream and/or capital receipt to the Council.

Having welcomed the proposals and whilst being mindful of the need to ensure an appropriate balance between residential and open spaces, it was noted that the proposals, if relevant, would be subject to the planning process thereby providing an opportunity for the community and residents to be consulted. Comment was made that the parcels of land identified currently fulfilled a number of different uses within the community and that discussions would be held with the public as necessary.

In noting the views of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth), the Cabinet

RESOLVED

a)  to approve the list of 13 parcels of land held by Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) and agreed to reclassify them as assets for sale;

b)  to approve that the Council sells the parcels of land for the delivery of affordable housing;

c)  to select Longhurst Housing Group as the preferred housing development partner and enter into further discussions on each of the sites;

d)  to agree the budget for the housing delivery programme;

e)  to delegate authority to the Leader in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources and Interim Corporate Director (Delivery) to approve the price (subject to RICS Valuation) and execute all associated legal and contractual processes and documentation;

f)  to delegate authority to the Leader in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources and the Interim Corporate Director (Delivery) to determine private rented homes or a capital receipt is received as payment for each of the land parcels; and

g)  to agree that any remaining small land parcels in the Councils portfolio not involved in this disposal remain under consideration for future facilitation of the objectives of the Housing Strategy and wider economic development/growth options.

A report on housing development on Council owned sites will be presented to the Panel.

Please note that the appendices are confidential (Part 2). Should Members want to discuss these then the meeting will have to enter into confidential (Part 2) session.

Consideration was given to a report by the Interim Corporate Director (a copy of which has been appended in the Minute Book) which proposes the sale of Council owned sites for housing development.

In introducing the report, the Executive Leader explained that the Council had undertaken a process and found a partner who is willing to work on all the sites identified as being suitable for development. He added that the report covers 13 sites and that another 30 sites owned by the Council were deemed as inappropriate for development. Consultant, Adrian Davey, added that the option of the Council self-developing the sites was reviewed, however it was deemed unpractical.

Councillor Corney stated that the approach of selecting appropriate sites to sell for development made sense and supported the recommendations as outlined within the report.

Councillor Wakeford wanted reassurance that a consultation would occur with the relevant communities to ensure that the impact of the decision to dispose of land for development would not adversely affect the community by removing its current use of the land. The Panel was reassured that a consultation would occur with the relevant Ward Members and Parish Councils in order to establish what community use, if any, the land currently has.

Councillor Dew commented that the potential for an additional 91 homes for affordable rent and affordable purchase within the District is positive and stated that he thought that Option 2, as highlighted by the report, is the correct option to select.

RESOLVED

The Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) recommended that Cabinet endorse the recommendations as outlined within the report at Appendix A.