Agenda item

As resolved at the ESC meeting on 8 November 2022, the Select Committee will receive an update report on the Housing Development Partnership.

Councillor Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing, Strategic Assets and Asset Transfer, alongside Richard Walters, Head of Service – Major Projects, and Claire Moore, Housing Enabling Lead, updated the Committee on the Wiltshire Housing Development Partnership.

An introduction to the Partnership was given, where it was explained that it acted as a forum for the Housing Enabling Team and various Registered Providers of Affordable Housing (RPs) to discuss shared practices, ways to overcome challenges, and how to achieve the delivery of an average of 650 affordable houses per year. Officers noted that in 2022/23, 643 Affordable Homes were delivered in Wiltshire, with only 235 homes delivered by the end of Q2 2023/24, showing a marked decrease in delivery and presenting a challenge in achieving the average annual target.

It was explained that the Partnership worked together to ensure that the delivery of Affordable Housing met demonstratable need within Wiltshire. As such, the two main tenures delivered at present were Affordable Rented Housing allocated to households on Wiltshire’s Housing Register, and Shared Ownership Housing sold to eligible households with a household income of less than £80,000. It was noted that it was still to be determined which rented tenure officers would be encouraging until the Local Plan was finalised, although when considering both the Local Housing Needs Assessment and Viability Assessments of relevant policies, officers were anticipating a move towards more social rented houses rather than Affordable Housing.

Officers noted that soon Affordable Housing provision would include an element of First Homes as required by a change in Government Policy. It was also highlighted that officers had noticed a trend in which RPs were moving towards more land-led schemes as it allowed for greater control over the delivery and quality of Affordable Homes.

It was explained that by adopting a more formal approach to selecting RPs, the Housing Enabling Team could ensure that the right partners were chosen to assist in focusing on the Council’s key priorities. Partnership meetings were held quarterly, were well attended by senior RP management, and ran more focussed sessions in which certain Council teams attended, such as the Climate Team.

Finally, officers felt confident that subject to the continued commitment of the Council and RPs, the Partnership offered the potential to continue assisting the Council in working towards its key priorities and meeting the housing needs of Wiltshire residents.

During the discussion, points included:

·       The definition of Affordable Housing.

·       The number of houses being disposed of by RPs per year and if those figures were being monitored by officers. In response, it was explained that officers only monitored those houses being disposed of by the Council as monitoring those by RPs was the responsibility of the Regulator of Social Housing. However, officers noted that they could retrieve and provide the data for Members outside of the meeting.

·       It was noted that officers were seeing that developers were experiencing significant amounts of stock and as such, were looking to sell properties to RPs to be used as Affordable Homes outside of Section 106 (S106) agreements. Therefore, in addition to those S106 properties already agreed, officers were anticipating a rise in the number of Affordable Homes across the County.

·       Members sought clarification on Paragraph 9, bullet-point 3. Officers explained although the S106 units were provided by developers, they were continuing to encourage RPs and others to achieve EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) A and B ratings for those homes. However, it was emphasised that any energy efficiency measures could only go at the same pace that Government changes and regulations came into effect. Despite this, officers highlighted that with any Council stock, existing homes were being retrofitted to EPC standards and any later land-led schemes were being developed in line with zero carbon standards. Furthermore, it was reiterated that the Partnership was an effective forum for joint problem solving, to exchange ideas, encourage improvements, and share best practices in order to deliver better quality homes and higher environmental standards.

·       Although officers emphasised that it was a priority to support tenants with regard to rising utility bills. However, it was highlighted that retrofitting came with high costs and the necessity to undertake any works during the void process led to subsequent impacts on business plans, extended void periods, a reduction in the ability to allocate people to homes, and a reduction in the amount of rent payments.

·       It was highlighted that the standards on EPC engineering had not changed since they were set 22 years ago.

·       In respect of any submitted planning applications, officers confirmed that they engaged with developers from pre-application stages onwards and could therefore ensure that those developments provided an adequate housing mix that met the demonstrable need with regard to considerations such as unit sizes and adaptable units.

·       It was further confirmed that a large part of the Wiltshire Council House Build Programme to date had been through the acquisition of properties as able, alongside the increase of land-led schemes through the HRA (Housing Revenue Account) by purchasing S106 properties. However, it was explained that although S106 properties were generally cheaper, they were negotiated on an affordable rent basis which then impacted on the wider business plans.

·       The role of the Stone Circle Housing Company’s programme was explained, and Members were encouraged to attend shareholder meetings if they had any specific questions.

·       With regard to any data in relation to void properties, Members were informed that it was not within the remit of the Partnership, and any questions should therefore be directed to the Allocations Team.

·       It was explained that Affordable Housing could not be achieved in all schemes, therefore the Local Housing Needs Assessment would consider proposed schemes in line with the finalised Local Plan.

·       Members were informed that although Shared Ownership sales had slowed down, they were still a popular option as it provided a choice with regard to which level buyers could purchase a home at. Furthermore, it was noted that the Local Plan would not include as many Shared Ownership homes due to the introduction of the Government’s First Homes Scheme and therefore, the split between Shared Equity, Affordable, and Social Rented Homes would vary on a site-by-site basis.

·       Finally, officers were thanked for their presentation and time.

At the conclusion of the discussion, it was:

Resolved:

1)    The Committee noted the contents of the report.

2)    The Committee requested that an update on the Partnership be brought to the Committee in 12 months’ time.