To receive any questions from members of the public and replies thereto.
Minutes:
The following statement and request was made by Mr Graeme Barnell (this was read out by the Chairman as Mr Barnell was unable to be present):
“At the meeting of MDDC Cabinet in August I asked for an explanation of the Council’s strategy relating to the delivery of affordable housing especially in addressing the very large historic shortfall in delivery against targets and the challenges presented by the findings of local Joint Housing Needs Survey carried out by the Council as recently as 2022.
I also raised the issue again of the lack of any regular management reports setting out as KPIs the delivery of different forms of affordable housing against the target set by the Councils existing Housing Strategy and by the MDDC Local Plan. In reply to my questions Cllr Clist said that the delivery of affordable housing is a key priority for the new Council. He spoke about a new Housing Strategy being prepared by the Council to replace the existing Strategy (2021-25) and a new scorecard or performance framework that would address the shortcomings in reporting performance and allow regular updates on delivery.
I wrote to him after the meeting asking for his response in writing, but I did not receive an answer.
Please can I ask for an update on the Council meeting its current targets for the delivery of affordable housing to include a forecast for this financial year? Please can this reply include Year to Date and forecast figures for the delivery of affordable homes for rent and purchase by both the commercial and not for profit sectors. I would also appreciate an update on the advent of the new Housing Strategy mentioned by Cllr Clist in August.”
The following response was provided by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Property Services:
My thanks to Graeme Barnell for his question in advance. I do have an update to the questions that he provided to the August Cabinet meeting. As he is aware the situation is always fluid with new opportunities coming along and obviously one or two issues with conditions beyond our control causing a delay. Obviously every opportunity, will be, and is, being grasped and for certain reasons they cannot really be discussed because they are of a financially discretionary nature and one doesn’t want to highlight that. My answer to him is that in terms of affordable housing of all types provided by the market developers (and this information is collated and verified by the Forward Planning Team annually), 23 units were provided in the year 2022 - 2023 and the data for 2023 – 2024 will be available some time after 31 March 2024. With regard to Affordable Housing and new Council houses for social and affordable rent, Mid Devon Housing are on track to provide 60 new Council homes during the year 2023 – 2024. I will briefly outline them and can I perhaps caveat that by saying that is does in fact add up to 59 not 60, however, as with buy backs etc. one has to include plus one or minus one so we will call it 60 for instance and purposes:
· There are 3 at Beech Road, 6 at St. Andrews, Cullompton, 8 at Shapland Place, Tiverton, 1 at Allington Terrace, Morchard Road, 39 at St. Georges Court, Tiverton and potentially 3 buy backs, 2 look positive, 1 may be not so but that will come forward.
As regards the Housing Strategy update, this will be commenced in the spring of 2024 and will inform the wider new Corporate Plan underpinning key priorities around housing delivery and standards. Mr Barnell, you will be aware that if you look online at meeting agendas the new dashboards that come forward for the Homes PDG and the new Corporate Plan will be fairly self explanatory. Undoubtedly it will be something that the PDG will be reviewing throughout the year anyway.
I would also like to highlight that Mr Barnell is a very big advocate of a very successful and ambitious social rented housing programme and I can reassure him that both as a political group and as a Council we are too and we will do our level best to increase and accelerate delivery. Thank you.