Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED: That Councillor Blunt be appointed Chairman of the Task Group.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Manning be appointed as Vice Chairman to the Task Group.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Bubb.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area

There was none.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

There was none.

Officers present introduced themselves.

The Housing Services Manager gave a Presentation on the background covering Government Policy and relevant Legislation, as attached.

Officers responded to questions from Members of the Task Group, as summarised below:

·         In terms of the final use of the home and if the owner could resell etc., this would be looked at in the Planning definitions and the land Use Policies.

·         Different options were available for the ownership of land.  Some companies offered sites and were in control of the site, which still came under Custom Build.  Some companies released plots and they were in control of the owner.

·         With regard to the term ‘serviced plots’, it was clarified that this meant that the plots did not have to be serviced before they were released for build.  However, consideration needed to be given to the accessibility of services to the plots, for example drainage and electricity etc. needed to be available in the vicinity.

·         A register was available for people to register their interest in Custom Build and Self Build plots.  The register asked for details such as budget, timescales and type of plot desired.

·         The Task Group was advised that Custom Build and Self Build plots were exempt from CIL, however if they were sold on within a number of years, they could be liable to CIL. 

·         Custom Build and Self Build projects offered opportunities for economies of scale if an organisation or group of people worked together.

·         Affordable properties at Shropshire were provided as an example and the Task Group were informed that over 250 affordable Self Build properties had been available in this area.  The resale value of the properties was restricted and applicants had to meet certain eligibility criteria to apply for a property.

·         Examples of a scheme in Cambridge were provided.  Individuals could pay a membership to an organisation and would have control over the design of the properties they wanted to live in.

·         Discussions were held as to whether it was better to engage further with the public now, or wait until policies had been formulated.

The Housing Development Officer informed the Task Group that the register had been launched in April, with an accompanying press release.  The register had been created in conjunction with other Norfolk Authorities so that a Norfolk wide register could be provided as well as registers for the individual organisations.  28 individuals had registered so far, and further promotion of the register would be carried out in due course.  The Task Group was informed that it was a statutory requirement for Authorities to provide a register and the Council’s response to the register would be formulated into Policy.  The Housing Development Officer explained that recent additional guidance had been received on the register and Local Authorities could charge people for joining the register, however it was felt that this could act as a deterrent.  The Register could also be restricted to those with local connections and those with the financial capacity to develop self-build.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Terms of Reference for the Task Group had been approved by the Regeneration and Development Panel.

The Housing Services Manager explained that consideration could be given to widening the remit of the Group to include wider issues such as starter homes and housing supply policy development.

It was anticipated that the Group would report back to the Regeneration and Development Panel with their final report in early 2017.

The Housing Services Manager explained that if the Task Group decided to look at wider issues it may be necessary to invite the relevant Portfolio Holder.

The LDF Manager provided the Group with the background on Exception Sites and how they were defined in policy.  He explained that one option could be to allow self-build outside of the development boundary, similar to what was allowed in exception sites.  He explained that the Task Group would also need to give consideration to the rural countryside and if self-build should be permitted.

The LDF Manager referred to the Shropshire model and explained that the Policy could include different build types across the spectrum.

He explained that the value to the land owner would need to be investigated and self-build plots could be sold at market value.  The Principal Planner explained that a percentage threshold could be introduced with regard to self-build plots, along similar lines to what had been introduced for the provision of affordable housing.  The Task Group was informed that there were lots of options which could be considered to encourage facilitation and delivery of sites.

Consideration would also need to be given to the Councils role and how involved they wanted to get.  The Task Group was informed that some Councils had already allocated land for self-build projects

ACTIONS:

(i) Examples from Cambs CC and Teignbridge be brought to a future meeting of the Task Group.

The Housing Services Manager circulated two documents to the Task Group, as attached.  The documents provided background on the legislation and also examples of what was happening in other Local Authority areas.

The Housing Services Manager explained that to get the ‘ball rolling’ Councils were offering their own land for self-build.  He felt that if the Council wanted to be ambitious with their offer, they needed a mix of their own land and other sites to be brought forward.

The Task Group discussed their next steps and actions were agreed as set out below.

The Chairman of the Task Group asked those present to give consideration to increasing the size of the Task Group to a nine Member Task Group.  The Task Group agreed that the size of the Group be increased and a recommendation would be presented to the Regeneration and Development Panel at its meeting on 30^th August 2016.

ACTIONS:

(i) The Housing Services Manager to circulate the supplementary planning document created by Teignbridge.

(ii) The Housing Development Officer to bring forward an analysis of the register to a future meeting of the Task Group including preferred areas and budget etc.

(iii) The Housing Services Manager to contact the National Group which had been set up to help Authorities to formulate their Policies and invite them to a future meeting of the Task Group.

(iv) The Property Services Manager and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Industrial Assets be contacted to discuss Council owned parcels of land which could be considered for self-build plots.

(v) More detail on the Cambridge site to be provided to the Task Group and representatives from South Cambs be invited to a future meeting of the Task Group.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

(i) That the Regeneration and Development Panel increase the size of the Task Group from five Members to nine Members.

(ii) The Custom Build and Self Build Policy Development Task Group’s Terms of Reference be amended to reflect the increase of Membership.

(iii) That the Group Leaders be contacted by the Democratic Services Officer to ask for their nominations for additional Members to the Task Group.

To agree the draft schedule of future meetings.

Tuesday 27^th September 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1

Tuesday 18^th October 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1

Tuesday 15^th November 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1

Tuesday 20^th December 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1

Tuesday 31^st January 2017 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1

RESOLVED: The schedule of meetings was agreed as follows:

Tuesday 27^th September 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1.

Tuesday 18^th October 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1.

Tuesday 15^th November 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1.

Tuesday 20^th December 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1.

Tuesday 31^st January 2017 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1.

There was none.

Tuesday 27^th September 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1 (subject to the agreement of the schedule of meetings).

The next meeting of the Custom Build and Self Build Policy Development Task Group was scheduled to take place on Tuesday 27^th September 2016 at 4.00pm in Meeting Room 1, King’s Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn.