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)