Issue - meetings

EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC FOR PART OF THE REPORT

The Cabinet is asked to consider excluding the public from the meeting under section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 for consideration of the appendices for the Accelerated Construction Scheme item on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined by paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

PRIVATE ITEM

Details of any representations received about why the appendices should be considered in public will be reported at the meeting.

RESOLVED:1)       That the Council formally accepts the total sum of £9,814,567(minimum amount offered could be subject to change) offered to the Council by Homes England under the Accelerated Construction Programme.

2)       That delegated authority be granted to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Housing and Community Portfolio Holder and the Corporate Projects & Assets Portfolio Holder to agree the following:

Reason for Decision

The recommendations will ensure that the opportunity presented by the Accelerated Construction Programme to accelerate housing delivery in the Borough will be fully realised and will ensure that the Council will be able to bring forward sites on land owned by the Council at a pace that would ordinarily not have been achievable.

Councillor Lawrence presented a report which provided information on the funding offered to BCKLWN in August 2018 through the Accelerated Construction Programme (ACP).

The Strategic Housing Manager explained that the programme had been established by Central Government to support Local Authorities to unlock barriers to delivery on public sector land on which housing could be delivered. The Council had been offered grant funding on seven sites. This was subject to final negotiation and acceptance of terms by the Council. The purpose of the report was to seek approval to accept the grant on each of the seven sites and inform the Cabinet of the requirements of the grant funding. 

Cabinet discussed the funding and congratulated Nikki Patton, Housing Strategy Officer and all officers involved for the work they had put in to gain the funding.   The major projects work undertaken and proposed by the Council, as demonstrated to the Housing Minister on his recent visit, had received excellent feedback from Westminster.

In discussing the proposed programme along with the Capital Programme of major schemes for the coming years, Cabinet expressed the view that the schemes need to be properly resourced in officer time in order to be able to deliver them. 

The Deputy Chief Executive explained that there would be a robust consideration of each scheme’s business case before any were put through for commencement.  She also confirmed that directly related staffing (ie: clerk of works) could potentially be charged to a scheme, and the Council had to bear in mind that the schemes had to be resourced financially, at the same time as meeting the Council’s funding gap over the coming years.

RESOLVED: 1)       That the Council formally accepts the total sum of £9,814,567(minimum amount offered could be subject to change) offered to the Council by Homes England under the Accelerated Construction Programme.

2)       That delegated authority be granted to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Housing and Community Portfolio Holder and the Corporate Projects & Assets Portfolio Holder to agree the following:

Reason for Decision

The recommendations will ensure that the opportunity presented by the Accelerated Construction Programme to accelerate housing delivery in the Borough will be fully realised and will ensure that the Council will be able to bring forward sites on land owned by the Council at a pace that would ordinarily not have been achievable.