Agenda item

The following motion has been passed to the Cabinet from Council for consideration and report:

This Council agrees to commission, as a matter of urgency, a plan based on evidence of local housing need for the delivery of affordable rented and social rented housing across Mid Devon. This plan should make best use of the Government's Affordable Housing programme 2021/26 and be presented to Council by June 2021.

The following motion has been passed to the Cabinet from Council for consideration and report:

This Council agrees to commission, as a matter of urgency, a plan based on evidence of local housing need for the delivery of affordable rented and social rented housing across Mid Devon. This plan should make best use of the Government's Affordable Housing programme 2021/26 and be presented to Council by June 2021.

The Lead Member for the Motion was invited to address the Cabinet:  Cllr G Barnell then addressed the meeting stating that the motion was proposed as a call for action from the minority group asking for a plan within 6 months for delivery of social and affordable rented housing. It did not ask for the delivery of a joint Local Housing Needs Assessment or a new Housing Strategy both of which were not necessary for the delivery of more social rented housing.  He referred to the priorities within the Corporate Plan and explained that there was a growing gap in social rented housing in the district.  He referred to registered providers who wanted to deliver social rented housing, the impact of the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme and the modest programme of return on social rented housing.  He referred to national studies and the programme for housing for social rented and affordable rented homes and MDDC’s performance figures against those studies.  He referred to monies allocated within the Medium Term Financial Plan set aside for the construction of additional affordable rented homes which could yield an additional seven or eight homes and that this would not keep pace with homes being released under ‘Right to Buy’; there was no mention of socially rented homes.  He then referred to funding streams available and the urgent need for an ambitious plan for the delivery of a programme of social rented housing across Mid Devon.

Cllr Clist was then invited to address the meeting: he stated that the Cabinet Member for Housing and Property Services was aware of the need for social rented housing and following the pandemic the need would be greater.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Property Services responded stating that he felt that the motion was unnecessary, it was a duplication of the work that was already underway, and that there was a need for a realistic plan, for the authority to take advantage of other funding opportunities and to have a proper evidence based assessment of the need, together with evidence of the type of accommodation required, construction type, wider infrastructure costs and land availability.  He was working with officers on a 15 month fully evidenced plan.  He referred to funding streams available and the time limits on those, the money that had had to be returned and a request to the HMCLG for an extension of time

Consideration was given to:

·         The New Homes Bonus and that it was not a fund for building new homes, it had been set up as a bonus grant to benefit the community, keep Council tax low and boost front line services.

·         The timing of the Housing Need Assessment and the production of a Housing Strategy

·         A timeline for reports coming forward to the Cabinet on this subject

·         The production of a 3 year rolling plan

·         The need to look at all available channels for funding

·         The date proposed in the motion of June 2021 was unrealistic

·         Small funding sources were not enough, there was a need for large investment into a programme of building social rented homes

·         The need to understand the housing need

RECOMMENDED to Council that Motion 566 not be supported as the timeline proposed within the motion was not achievable, there were already strands of work taking place with a planned programme already set out.

(Proposed by Cllr R B Evans and seconded by Cllr C R Slade)