Agenda item

To provide the Panel with an update on the High Road West scheme.

Peter O’Brien, Assistant Director for Regeneration, introduced the report on this item. In September 2017 the Cabinet approved Lendlease as the preferred bidder for the High Road West regeneration scheme. As part of the agreement the Council agreed to acquire 145 social rented homes and 46 shared equity homes. Benefits of the scheme are set out in paragraph 1.3 of the report including a library and learning centre, improved public realm and a significant amount of business space.

A significant recent change has been the new condition for a ballot of residents recently introduced by the Mayor which will shape how the High Road West scheme proceeds. The new administration has set a major priority on the delivery of Council rented homes and has set officers the ambition to achieve a step change in the amount of Council rented homes in this scheme. This is critically important as shifting the mix of housing in the scheme impacts fundamentally on its financial viability so the Council is working with Lendlease and the GLA to bring additional resources into the scheme so that these ambitions can be delivered.

The ballot of residents will be accompanied by a ‘Landlord Offer’ which is the package of documents that the Council will put forward as part of the ballot including a local lettings policy which will set out how the new Council homes will be allocated. The quantum of additional Council homes in the scheme will enable more people to be taken off the housing register in the Borough and also addresses other forms of need such as Temporary Housing residents. The Landlord Offer will also include a leaseholder offer and a document which sets out the broad vision of the High Road West scheme.

The Council made a number of commitments to local businesses in 2014 through the Business Charter and these are set out in paragraph 3.1 of the report. There are around 60 businesses in the High Road West area which are very varied and total around 200,000 sq/ft of floorspace. The proposals for the High Road West scheme include at least 200,000 sq/ft of non-residential space, including retail, business and leisure. Every effort will be made to re-accommodate as many of the existing businesses as possible but, given the fundamental change in the character of area, it is very challenging to envisage all businesses being re-accommodated. There are detailed discussions to be had with each business about their business requirements and aspirations which will take some time.

In terms of community engagement, a Resident Charter was created in 2014 which set out the residents’ priority for development in the area and further input from residents was gathered through a residents’ design panel set up in 2016. Further continuing resident engagement measures are set out in paragraph 4.2 of the report.

A dedicated rehousing team to facilitate the rehousing of Love Lane Estate residents has been established at The Grange which is the community centre opposite the Estate. The numbers of the various types of tenants has changed significantly since 2014 and the detail of this is set out in paragraph 5.3 of the report. A socio-economic programme is in the process of being established as part of the scheme, the major improvement works to White Hart Lane station are expected to be completed in autumn 2019 and the road surfacing work is expected to be completed in April 2019.

Cllr Say commented that the report had only reported only positive aspects but as had been heard through the deputation earlier in the meeting not everything was positive.

In response to questions from the Panel, Peter O’Brien and Dan Hawthorn said:

• On a planning application by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for the Goods Yard site, which the Council was itself trying to acquire according to paragraph 3.5 of the report, he said that he was limited in what he could say about this but that parties often take a set of positions in relation to land in complex development sites. The Council has to focus on establishing the viability of the scheme and the right offer for residents after which they would be in a strong position to negotiate with third parties on any subsequent land deals.
• Asked whether the commitments to local businesses set out in the Business Charter, most notably Commitment 1 (opportunities to participate in regeneration) and Commitment 3 (valuation and compensation), actually match the offer to the Peacock Industrial Estate businesses, particularly given the shift from freehold to leasehold, the conversations with businesses are still at a very early stage and the question of the viability of the scheme is still to be resolved so this stage has not yet been reached.
• Asked about the thinking regarding the described change of character to the floor space and the potential for losing high quality jobs to be replaced with semi-skilled or unskilled jobs, he said that the wider context had to be considered. Pressures that the Borough is trying to address include housing as a major priority and most remaining sites in London are complex and difficult. Employment generating space is another factor and many of the jobs on the Peacock Industrial Estate are relatively low density jobs and in a mixed use scheme there would be higher job density. Not all of the new jobs will be in the retail/leisure sector, there will also be a significant number of jobs in other areas.
• On the shift in the quantum of social housing in the scheme the Council is looking to at least double the numbers but, because of the scale of this, conversations will need to continue on achieving viability. It is currently difficult to answer questions about the amount or proportion of social housing while the conversations with Lendlease and the GLA are ongoing.
• On the socio-economic programme referred to in the report, the £10m commitment is a contribution from Lendlease as part of the agreement and this sum of money will come in over a 10-year period. A more detailed update about the nature of this programme could be circulated to the Panel. (ACTION)
• On why, according to the report, the number of resident leaseholders on the Love Lane Estate have decreased from 49 to 35 since 2014, this is because some properties have been acquired by the Council.
• On the demolition of the existing Council housing, it is clear from the consultation that the majority of the residents supported demolition of the blocks for reasons such as the quality of the housing. The judgment made at the time was that the uplift in the number of affordable homes would be worthwhile and that the existing residents would have the right to an equivalent home on equivalent terms. The new direction of this administration that wants ‘direct replacement and more’ leads us to the current position.
• Residents eligible to vote in the ballot will be all secure tenants, all temporary accommodation tenants who have been on the Council’s housing waiting list for a year or more and all resident leaseholders. If the result of the ballot was ‘no’ then the GLA funding, on which the scheme depends, would not be provided. The options at this point would then be either not to proceed with the scheme or to make a revised offer to residents and then hold another ballot. If the result of the ballot was ‘yes’ then it could be another year to get through the planning process as this is a particularly large scheme and there is a wide range of stakeholders to engage with. The building itself would be a phased development over a period of approximately 10 years.
• On maintaining high quality jobs in the borough, the Borough Plan had been adopted the previous month which includes a commitment to quality jobs that give opportunities to local people as part of the wider local economy. Arrangements are also being put in place for the Council’s economic development strategy. Some kinds of jobs, including light industrial, office and retail use, can co-exist with housing but some heavy industrial uses require segregation. Where those can’t be accommodated in the High Road West scheme the Council will seek to find suitable alternative premises as close as possible.
• The new administration’s commitment to build 1,000 new council homes is a net figure so those replacing demolished council housing will not count towards this target. Building homes ourselves is preferable but hitting this target, which involves a very large increase in the number of council houses being built, requires a mix of options and working with partners.

Cllr Diakides requested a briefing note on what public sector subsidies had been provided towards the scheme and also asked whether the Development Agreement could be made available to the Panel. (ACTION)

Cllr Gordon highlighted the Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s ongoing scrutiny review into small businesses which fits in with the conversations on this scheme about the possible loss of high quality jobs so she would raise this with the Overview & Scrutiny Committee. The Panel is also concerned about the possible overall loss of Council rented homes.

The Panel moved on to questions about issues at the Love Lane Estate including the tenancies of the residents and as well as anti-social behaviour and repairs. Denise Gandy, Executive Director of Housing Demand at Homes for Haringey (HFH), reported that the Estates Watch scheme, which involves using CCTV and an intercom system in partnership with the Police, is being piloted including at Love Lane. This has enabled the gathering of evidence to support police action and the prevention of some people from gaining unauthorised access to the blocks. A detailed update from Astrid Kjellberg-Obst, Executive Director of Operations at HfH, could be provided in writing. (ACTION) A further update on the repairs issue could be provided by Chris Liffen, Executive Director for Property Services at HfH. (ACTION)

On the issue of the tenancies at Love Lane, Dan Hawthorn, Director of Housing, Regeneration & Planning, said that there is an important question when allocating housing about the fairest way of balancing the aspirations of the current Love Lane residents with others on the housing waiting list who may have been waiting longer. The proposed approach to striking that balance would need to be included in the Landlord Offer ahead of the residents’ ballot.