Issue - meetings

(Report of the Director of Adult and Housing Services. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing). The report asks Cabinet to note the position with regard to the 2012-13 Housing Capital Programme; approve virements to the 2012-13 Decent Homes Programme and approve the installation of pitched roofs for a number of housing blocks.

Cabinet considered a report, presented by the Cabinet Member for Housing, which set out the position with respect to the Decent Homes Programme and the main variances and proposed virements in order to ensure that the budget accurately reflected the planned programme outputs.

The Cabinet Member for Housing advised that following further discussion with officers it was considered that as the leaseholders in three of the blocks (2-24 Circular Road, 93-110 Holcombe Road and 2-20 Scales Road) had already been issued with Section 20 Notices based on a flat roof solution, the flat roofs of Charles Bradlaugh House and Robert Burns House would be replaced with pitched roofs as they offered better value for money over a thirty year period. Therefore it was proposed that the recommendations, set out in the report, should be amended to reflect this and there was agreement that this amendment should be incorporated.

RESOLVED:

1. That the position with regard to the 2012/13 Housing Capital Programme, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be noted.

2. That virements totalling £1.319m to the 2012/13 Decent Homes Programme, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report, be approved

3. That the conversion of the flat roofs at Charles Bradlaugh House and Robert Burns House to pitched roofs should be approved.

4. That the suspension of Tangmere, Broadwater Farm from the Decent Homes programme, pending the completion and consideration of a comprehensive evaluation of the short and medium term investment needs and options for the blocks, be approved.

Other Options Considered

The options for further schemes to be added to the Decent Homes Programme, if resources allowed, were previously discussed by Cabinet in the form of a reserve list. There was not need to consider alternatives to these schemes at this stage.

Reasons for Decision

The proposed virements to the Decent Homes Programme will increase the resources available for improvements to residents’ homes, in line with Council priorities and the need to reduce the number of non-decent homes within the borough.