Agenda item

[Report of the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

This report seeks Cabinet approval for the acquisition from Berkeley Square Developments ARS Limited (“BSD”) of the freehold interest of a block of flats to be known as 1A Ashley Gardens

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which sought approval for the acquisition from Berkeley Square Developments ARS Limited (“BSD”) of the freehold interest of a block of flats to be known as 1A Ashley Gardens.

The Cabinet Member noted 1A Ashley Gardens would provide 104 high quality new Council homes at Council rents by May 2022.

Further to considering exempt information at item 25,

RESOLVED

1. To approve the acquisition of the freehold of the property known as 1A Ashley Gardens, Tottenham Hale (shown edged red on the plan attached as Appendix 1) from Berkeley Square Developments ARS Limited for a sum of [EXEMPT], subject to a Red Book valuation and final Heads of Terms. The acquisition will comprise of the development of 108 new build homes, of which 104 will be Council homes for Council rent, plus two commercial units. Four homes and the two non-residential units will be leased back to BSD on 999-year leases. There are nine car spaces also included as part of the proposed package. The acquisition will be based on the draft Heads of Terms (subject to the final version) attached at Appendix 2. The total costs for the acquisition are [EXEMPT] which include SDLT and legal and property costs as set out in the Finance comments at section 8 of this report.
2. To delegate authority to agree the final Heads of Terms and the final documentation, including the Development Agreement, to the Director of Housing, Planning and Regeneration after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration, and with advice from the Director of Finance and the Assistant Director for Corporate Governance

Reasons for decision

The freehold acquisition of the 1A Ashley Gardens site will allow the Council to secure the rapid delivery of Council homes at Council rents.

This responds to local aspirations to see an increase in the number of new social rented homes delivered. By delivering ten per cent of the Borough Plan target of one thousand Council homes at Council rents by May 2022, it helps meet a key commitment of the Administration. It also delivers an improved mix of affordable housing within the scheme and in Tottenham Hale, which better meets the needs of local people.

Alternative options considered

Not to acquire the homes. This would require Berkeley Square Developments ARS Limited (BSD) to dispose of the homes to a Private Registered Provider on the basis of the current consented scheme which comprises 64 Shared Ownership homes and 33 homes at London Affordable Rent. This option was dismissed for three reasons:

• The borough would lose 64 homes for social rent because they would be sold on a Shared Ownership basis as per current planning permission.
• If the Council does not acquire these properties, the developer may delay the delivery of this scheme significantly until it could dispose to a registered provider.
• The Council would lose the benefit of having negotiated a revised mix that includes a reduction in one-bedroom flats and an increase in family-sized two- and three-bedroom homes. This is a need for those within the borough on the Housing Register.

Acquiring the 33 rented homes and 64 Shared Ownership homes as approved by the Planning Authority. This option was dismissed because it would not allow the Council to address as effectively the urgent need for more affordable rented accommodation; and the Council would need to remodel to achieve the desired mix of housing size. It would also adversely affect progress towards meeting the Council’s target of delivering 1,000 new Council homes by 2022.