Agenda item

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

This report seeks Cabinet’s approval, in light of engagement with local residents, to deliver four new Council homes for Council rent on Council land: three two-bedroom flats, including one that is fully accessible for wheelchair-users, and one three-bedroom flat. The recommended development has received positive feedback from the community and was given planning permission on 29 September 2020.

In order to facilitate this, Cabinet is being asked to approve use of the Council’s powers to appropriate the land for planning purposes and to override any easements.

Cabinet is asked in light of a formal procurement exercise to approve the appointment of a local contractor, NFC Homes Limited, to deliver these new Council homes by converting a vacant shop unit on the ground floor of an existing Council block and building a new block of two flats on adjoining land currently occupied by dilapidated pram sheds.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced the report which sought approval for the delivery of four new Council homes for Council rent, on Council land. To facilitate this development, Cabinet was asked to approve the use of the Council’s powers to appropriate the land for planning purposes and to override any easements.

The approval of these four new homes, one of which would be fully accessible for wheelchair users, would result in a total of 359 new Council homes under construction across 15 sites in 11 wards by the end of February 2021.

Further to considering the exempt information at item 421,

RESOLVED

1.    To approve the appointment of NFC Homes Limited to undertake the new build works to provide a total of four Council rented homes at Scales Road for a total contract sum of £841,813.00 and to approve the client contingency sum set out in the exempt part of the report.

2.    To approve the appropriation of the land at Scales Road (edged red in the plans attached at Appendix 1) from housing purposes to planning purposes under Section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972 as it is no longer required for the purpose which it is currently held, and for the purpose of carrying out development as set out in paragraphs 6.1 to 6.22 of this report.

3.    To approve the use of the Council’s powers under Section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to override easements and other rights of neighbouring properties infringed upon by the Scales Road development, under planning permission Ref: HGY/2020/1809.

4.    To delegate to the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning, after consultation with the Director of Finance and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal, authority to make payments of compensation as a result of any infringement arising from the development and the recommendation 3.1.3, within the existing scheme of delegation.

5.    To approve the appropriation of the land at Scales Road (edged red in the plans attached at Appendix 1) from planning purposes back to housing purposes under Section 19 of the Housing Act 1985, after practical completion of the development on 31 March 2022.

Reasons for decision

On 9 July 2019 Cabinet included the land at Scales Road in the Council’s housing delivery programme. The development scheme has subsequently been granted planning consent and is ready to progress to construction. This report therefore marks the third, and final, Member decision to develop on this site.

Following a formal tender process, NFC Homes Limited has been identified to undertake these works.

The appropriation of the land at Scales Road (‘the Site’) for planning purposes is required as it will allow the Council to use the powers contained in Section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (‘HPA’) to override easements and other rights of neighbouring properties. This will prevent injunctions that could delay or prevent the Council’s proposed development. Section 203 HPA converts the right to seek an injunction into a right to compensation. Engagement with the community has not given rise to any suggestions that third-party rights would be infringed by the development; and it is believed that any potential infringement of third-party rights would not give rise to any breach of rights to private and family life. The Site will need to be appropriated back from planning purposes to housing purposes on completion of the development to enable the Council to use the land for housing and let four new Council homes at Council rent.

The new development at Scales Road will also allow the Council to secure the boundary of the Site and improve security for new and existing residents, alleviating the anti-social behaviour currently attracted to the Site by the dilapidated pram sheds.

Alternative options considered.

It would be possible not to develop this Site for housing purposes. However, this option was rejected as it does not support the Council’s commitment to deliver a new generation of Council homes.

This opportunity was procured via a direct appointment from the London Construction Programme (LCP) Major Works 2019 Framework Agreement, the recommended route for a contract of this value. An alternative option would have been to run a competitive tender from the LCP, but this option was rejected due to limited interest from the framework contractors.

The Council could continue with the scheme without appropriating the Site for planning purposes, but this would risk the proposed development being delayed or stopped by potential third-party claims. By utilising the powers under Section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (HPA 2016), those who benefit from third party rights will not be able to seek an injunction since those rights or easements that are overridden are converted into a claim for compensation only. The Council recognises the potential rights of third parties and will pay compensation where a legal basis for such payments is established. The housing delivery team actively engaged with local residents about the development of this Site as they proceeded through the feasibility and design stages and any comments or objections raised were taken into consideration by Planning Committee in reaching its decision. For these reasons, this option was rejected.

The Council could decide not to appropriate the land for housing purposes upon practical completion of the building works. This option was rejected because it would prevent the Council from being able let these homes on secure tenancies at Council rent.