Agenda item

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 was informed that there are some villages where rural exception sites are not required. In villages where there was a demand Members can play a crucial role by finding out who owns which pieces of land and persuading residents that affordable housing is required.

One Member explained that there needs to be more information about affordable housing. In the Member’s home village there was 5,000 residents but only 33 houses was social rented, although there was a further 153 social rented bungalows or flats. In addition, around eight social rented houses had been sold under the right to buy since 2000, with only one new social rented house built in replacement. In response, the Panel were told that education amongst Members was important in helping to find and secure affordable housing sites. The Panel,

RESOLVED

to endorse the Working Group’s findings and the recommended actions in 6.2 for consideration by the Cabinet.