Agenda item

Housing Delivery Programme update

·         Update on Community Benefit Society (CBS)

·         Purchase of 104 & 106 Woodside Avenue – report to follow

Minutes:

Introducing this item, Cllr Ruth Gordon noted that the Panel was already familiar with this programme but wished to continue monitoring it on an ongoing basis including any ‘red flag’ issues. She noted that the Housing team had provided a spreadsheet to the Panel listing the housing delivery sites.

 

Robbie Erbmann, AD for Housing, said that good progress had been made on the number of sites on the programme in the previous couple of months and seven new people had been recruited to the team. Building work was progressing at Joy Gardner House on Templeton Road which was the first direct delivery site. Despite the lockdown, the team was feeling confident about hitting 1,000 starts by March 2022, though it would take quite a lot longer than originally planned to reach 1,000 completions.

 

Robbie Erbmann then responded to questions from Panel Members:

  • Asked by Cllr Gunes about the potential impact of Covid or other adverse factors on the programme, Robbie Erbmann said that there had been a significant impact on the programme caused by the first lockdown, such as migration of staff to online working, the pausing of work on some sites and the shortage of some building supplies. The impact of Covid was continuing in the second wave with most sites estimated to be working at only approximately two-thirds of their normal pace but the same pattern of problems was not being seen in the second lockdown when compared to the first.
  • Askes by Cllr Barnes what a realistic timescale for the 1,000 completions would be, Robbie Erbmann said that the latest estimates were for May/June 2024, though the timescales for this type of project does often change.
  • Asked by Cllr Barnes what a realistic housing completion target for the next administration might be, Robbie Erbmann said that there were now sites with capacity for up to 2,000 under active development so, given the time required to get developments planned and built on a site, finishing the 1,000 completions and then getting a further 1,000 starts on site could be a reasonable target for a 2022-26 administration.
  • Asked by Cllr Barnes about demand for different types of home, Robbie Erbmann said that the existing aim was to build decent sized homes with outdoor space and he wasn’t sure that the pandemic had dramatically changed people’s housing needs, but should make everyone resolute not to deliver bad housing because poor quality accommodation causes additional problems for people in such circumstances.
  • Asked by Cllr Barnes about the potential impact of Brexit on the programme, Robbie Erbmann said that this would depend on whether there was any disruption in the market or on building supplies. The supply of labour could also be a problem, and while local labour initiatives and apprenticeships could play a part in encouraging local people into the industry, the shortage of labour could impact negatively on timescales for the programme. As this was a national issue, it would be difficult to mitigate against these problems, not least because contractors for around half the programme had not been selected yet.
  • Cllr Brabazon welcomed the spreadsheet listing the housing delivery sites but noted that it did not include more information about each project and said that the Panel needed to see more detail on the progress and finances for each site. Robbie Erbmann said that some information can be shared with the Panel, but other details, such as commercially sensitive financial information, cannot be shared. Robbie Erbmann said that another conversation about specifically what information can be shared with the Panel could take place after the meeting. (ACTION) Cllr Brabazon accepted that commercially sensitive information was confidential but said that the most important aspect that the Panel needed to see was the project management information which showed which aspects of the programme were making progress and where there was slippage.
  • In response to a question from Cllr Diakides, Robbie Erbmann said that about 200 completions could be expected by March 2022. He said that he did not have figures to hand on how many of these would be direct delivery and how many would be acquisitions but would supply this information after the meeting. (ACTION)
  • Asked by Cllr Diakides about whether there was any risk of underspending GLA subsidies for housing, Robbie Erbmann said that he was comfortable that the Council’s allocation would be spent. The allocation was to start 600 homes on site by March 2022, but his expectation was that it could go some way beyond that.
  • Asked by Cllr Diakides about weaknesses in consultation processes, Robbie Erbmann said that two new people had been recruited to work on engagement and consultation. This brought the number of staff up to a team of three and it was possible that further resources may need to be added. There were around 70 sites in the programme which would require a lot of consultation. He added that moving to online consultation processes was also a difficult new aspect that everyone was learning to do better.
  • Asked by Cllr Gunes for more general information about the programme, Robbie Erbmann noted that a summary report had been provided to the Panel at the previous meeting on 14th September. This was before Cllr Gunes had joined the Panel but the report and minutes were available on the website. Any further information required could be provided on request.
  • Asked by Cllr Gordon whether building work on the Welbourne site had stopped due to Covid, Robbie Erbmann said that a number of workers had to come off site for a short period but the progress on the site was actually ahead of schedule so this was not expected to have a major impact on the programme.

 

Cllr Gordon proposed that the Housing Delivery Programme should become a standing item for future Panel meetings. (ACTION)

 

Community Benefit Society

 

Robbie Erbmann then introduced the report on the Community Benefit Society (CBS). He said that in July 2018 the Cabinet had agreed to establish the CBS which enables the Council to acquire homes using retained Right to Buy receipts and lease them to the CBS, which then lets them to homeless households. The leases last for seven years after which the properties return to the Council’s HRA. The additional income generated from the lease helps the Council to secure higher quality homes in, or near, the borough; and also ensures that these homes are let at affordable levels.

 

The CBS had been operational for about a year and it was now leasing 134 homes, of which 129 were occupied. Another 20 properties were expected to be leased in the next month. In addition, 21 modular units from Ermine Road would be leased from March. An additional donation of 16 units had been received from the Hill Foundation.

 

To date, £46.7m had been spent on these properties, 30% of which came from retained Right to Buy receipts.

 

Robbie Erbmann then responded to questions from the Panel:

  • Asked by Cllr Say what would happen to properties outside the Borough after the seven year period, Robbie Erbmann said that they could be sold, but that there was already some Council housing outside of the Borough so there would be a number of options, including another seven-year lease.
  • In response to a question from Cllr Brabazon, Robbie Erbmann said that Homes for Haringey (HfH) provide the housing management on behalf of the CBS. Cllr Brabazon asked about an incident of overflowing rubbish at the IBSA blocks in Barnet which are owned by the CBS, as it had been difficult to establish responsibility for the housing management. Robbie Erbmann said that the problem had been caused by the properties being furnished and then residents taking their own furniture out of storage resulting in some furniture being left outside the blocks. All residents had been contacted and items were being removed by the HfH Estate Services team.
  • Asked by Cllr Brabazon for further details about governance structures, Robbie Erbmann said that the CBS had five Board Members. Of these, two were appointed by the Council (of which he was one) and three were independent. The management services were provided by HfH and problems were dealt with in the same way as any other properties in the Council’s portfolio. An ALMO client management team was being introduced which would include a role specifically for looking after the CBS properties.

 

Due to time constraints, it was agreed that the report on Woodside Avenue be deferred to the next meeting. (ACTION)

 

Supporting documents: