Decision details

The Cabinet Member for House Building, Place-Making and Development introduced the report which sought approval for the acquisition at pre-construction phase of 14 private sale homes in three blocks at Hale Wharf in Tottenham Hale for housing purposes as Council homes at Council rent. The 14 homes were located in the top floors of three of the six blocks which the Council was currently acquiring from Developer Waterside Place Limited Partnership as approved by Cabinet on 22July 2021 as part of the Council House Delivery Programme.

The Cabinet Member and Assistant Director for Housing responded to questions from Councillor Cawley-Harrison:

-           The purchase of the original 177 homes was completed as part of a Section 106 acquisition.  The 14 private sale homes were not included as part of this and the decision was taken to continue with the Section 106 purchases and return to consider purchasing these units at a later date.

-           The purchase prices were at reasonably comparable rates for the market acquisition.

Further to consideration of exempt information, it was

RESOLVED to

1.         Approve the acquisition of the long leasehold interests in 14 private sale residential homes in Hale Wharf Phase 2 from Waterside Place Limited Partnership for use as Council rent accommodation for the Package Price and based on the Heads of Terms and Business Case as set out in Exempt Appendix 2. The homes are located in the top floors in three of the six residential blocks within Hale Wharf Phase 2 which the Council is acquiring and which will all be converted for use as Council homes at Council rent.

2.         Give delegated authority to the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning and after consultation with the Head of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer) and Cabinet Member for House-Building, Place-Making and Development to agree legal documentation and complete the transaction.

Reasons for decision

·                    Cabinet on 22^nd July 2021 approved the acquisition of the long leasehold interests of 177 residential homes from Waterside Place Limited Partnership for use as Council Rent accommodation. These homes are contained within six blocks (D to J inclusive as shown in Appendix 1). There are 14 private sale homes re located in the top floors in Blocks D, E & F which were not included in this transaction.  A purchase price and Heads of Terms have now been agreed with the developer for the acquisition of these homes.

·                    There is an overwhelming need for social rented homes in Haringey. The acquisition of these 14 homes in addition to the 177 affordable homes which the Council is already acquiring will help the Council to meet that need by converting all the homes (total No. 191) to Social Rent for rent to those on the Council’s Housing Register who most need them.

·                    The conversion of these additional private sale homes to homes for Social Rent will also deliver an improved mix of genuinely affordable homes within the scheme as a whole and in Tottenham Hale more widely, better meeting the needs of local people.

·                    The homes to be delivered are very well located and will be of an extremely high quality. Delivering them as Council homes would help to create an inclusive environment in a development that has adopted the Healthy Streets Approach to embed public health in public realm.

·                    The acquisition is supported by the HRA Business Plan and by GLA grant funding.

·                    Schedule of Accommodation

Alternative options considered

Not to acquire the private sale homes. This option was rejected because it would represent a missed opportunity for the Council to:

 i.             Acquire the outright long leasehold interest of all the residential homes in Blocks D to J (inclusive) in Hale Wharf Phase 2 which the Council is already purchasing.

ii.             Secure an additional 14 private sale homes for conversion to use as Council rent tenancies within three buildings where the Council will be the long lessee and responsible for building maintenance, insurance and service provision.

iii.             Enable the Council to provide internal estate management services to single tenure occupiers i.e. Council Rent Tenants.

iv.             Avail of substantive GLA grant funding from the Building Homes for Londoners Programme (TBC by Housing and Finance).

v.             Further assist in maintaining momentum and progress in the overall Tottenham Hale regeneration area.