Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director of Assets and the S.151 Officer.

The Chairman invited Cllr Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing, Strategic Assets, and Asset Transfer, to present a report recommending that Council approve the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) business plan, budget, and associated housing funding decisions.

Cllr Alford proposed a motion to approve the recommendations set out in the report, which was seconded by Cllr Laura Mayes, Deputy Leader of the Council. Details were provided about the capital programme, including the proposed 2.7 percent social dwelling rent increase. Cllr Alford reported that a number of recent changes in government policy had been reflected in the new business plan, including a reduction in the level of discount available to tenants who wanted to take advantage of the Right to Buy scheme. He also highlighted that the maintenance budget had increased by £2.49 million and that the business plan had delivered 208 homes in a previous phase, 173 in the current phase and had a further 40 in development. There were an additional 533 in the pipeline, so the council was on track to deliver its overall target of 1,000 new homes.

The Chairman then invited comments from group leaders.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council, emphasised that it was important for the council to engage closely with central government on council housing and reported that there would be a further meeting on the subject the following week.

Cllr Ian Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, welcomed the report. He asked what had impacted delivery of the original target and why it was felt that it would not impact future delivery.

Cllr Jon Hubbard, on behalf of the Independent Group welcomed a recent report made to Cabinet about the HRA.

Cllr Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, welcomed the proposals and stressed the importance of ensuring that contractors had sufficient capacity to deliver the housing targets.

The Chairman then opened the item to general debate.

During the debate a number of points were made, and the report was broadly accepted. The additional funding that the government were investing in affordable housing was welcomed. It was also noted that many housing associations and developers had downgraded their housebuilding targets to ensure that their debt ratios were complaint.

A comment was made expressing disappointment that the period to deliver the 1,000 council homes had been extended from 10 to 17 years. It was suggested that there might be a financial advantage in purchasing houses from developers using Section 106 funding. It was also stated that it would be a positive step if Stone Circle showed a similar level of transparency about their finances to the HRA.

Cllr Alford, as mover of the motion, responded to the comments made in debate. He explained that the council had adapted their approach to procuring houses to reflect a significant increase in the cost of building. Once the houses currently in the pipeline had been delivered, they would look adapt their procurement model so that there were a greater number of Section 106 funded acquisitions.

It was noted that large volume housebuilders were able to build houses more cheaply than the council so buying from developers would help to manage the debt profile within the HRA. Cllr Alford believed that buying homes directly from developers would not reduce the overall number of affordable homes being delivered but would be in addition to those being delivered by the private sector. He also felt that buying homes on the open market did have a role to play, in part because the proceeds from selling Right to Buy properties had to be reinvested within certain timescales.

At the conclusion of the debate, it was, therefore,

Resolved:

That Council:

a)    Note the draft budget estimates and proposals.

b)   Approve the HRA Annual Revenue Budget for 2025/26 as described in the report and Appendix 1, subject to an in year review.

c)    Approve the increase of 2.7% (CPI+1%) to Dwelling Rents and Garage Rents for 2025/26

d)   Approve the HRA Capital Programme for 2025/26 as described in the report and Appendix 2, including the allocation of an additional £99m for the Council House Build Programme.

e)    Note the reviewed and updated assumptions in the HRA 30-Year Business Plan as detailed in the report.

f)     Approve authority to receive bespoke or targeted grants (if awarded) during the year.

In accordance with the constitution there was a recorded vote.

Votes for the motion (73)

Votes against the motion (1)

Votes in abstention (0)

Details of the recorded vote are attached to these minutes.