Agenda item

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting. 

In relation to item 9 of the draft minutes of the panel’s previous meeting on 17^th September 2018, Panel members asked for further clarification about the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Regeneration’s comments about proposed changes to Appendices C & D of the Council’s existing Housing Strategy and about the consultation process for a new Housing Strategy. Dan Hawthorn, Director of Housing & Growth, commented that at a meeting of the Cabinet earlier in the week (on 13^th Nov 2018) changes to Appendix C were approved – this does not change the percentage of affordable housing required in new developments but addresses the preferences that the new administration has for the types of affordable housing. On the Council’s Housing Strategy, this has a formal planning status so the review of it requires a public consultation, which will take place over the course of 2019, and must be considered by the Regulatory Committee and Cabinet before it is then adopted by full Council. Changing the percentage of affordable housing required by new developments would have to be done through the Local Plan which is subject to an examination by an independent Planning Inspector for viability which is a time consuming process. The Mayor of London is also in the process of updating the London Plan and this is expected to include a change in the overall strategic target of affordable housing in London from 40% to 50% when it is adopted in October 2019.

Asked whether the Planning Sub Committee could begin to base its decisions on an expected forthcoming change in affordability targets, given that it could take a couple of years before the policy could be formally adopted, Dan Hawthorn commented that decisions taken on this basis could be vulnerable to being overturned on appeal. However, the further the policy went through the adoption process, the greater the weight that could be placed on it when making decisions. The Panel also queried whether discussions with developers about future planning applications would be based on the expected future affordability target. Emma Williamson, Assistant Director for Planning, (who was not present at the meeting) could supply further written information to the Panel to provide more detail on these points. (ACTION – EMMA WILLIAMSON)

Cllr Barnes noted that there is a discrepancy between the figure of 3,000 Haringey households in Temporary Accommodation, as set out in Item 8 of the minutes of the previous meeting, and the figure of 4,400 Haringey households in Temporary Accommodation, as described by Reverend Nicolson in the deputation that had just been received. Dan Hawthorn confirmed that 3,000 is the figure that he works with and that he does not recognise the larger 4,400 figure.

Cllr Stone noted that he had been marked as not present in the draft minutes which was incorrect. This error would be amended in the final version of the minutes.

AGREED: That, following the aforementioned amendment to the attendance record, the minutes of the Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 17^th September 2018 be approved as an accurate record.