Report by Head of PMO and Environmental Health and Housing (attached).

Council considered a report by the Head of Programme Management and Performance (circulated previously) regarding Ilfracombe Healthy Homes and Community Land Trust, Combined County Authority BIDs.

The Chief Executive drew the Member’s attention to the following points:

·       North Devon Council submitted two business cases to Government (Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities that changed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government after the last general election) for a total funding amount of £2,790,000:

Ø  Project 1 entitled Healthy Homes Pilot with a financial ask of £1,980,000; and

Ø  Project 2 named Additional Low Carbon Community Land Trust Affordable Housing in Isolated Areas with an ask of £810,000.

·       Both those Bids were successful and the report sought to vary the capital programme to incorporate the total allocation.

·       The 2 projects had been tested through a rigorous process where the strategic, economic, commercial, financial management cases had been scrutinised by independent parties to test the robustness of the proposals.

·       Project 1: A pilot project to assess if intervening in the Ilfracombe local housing market would help to improve the housing standards of existing low quality homes in terms of cost and quality plus the overall living conditions and wider health determinates of the residents.

·       These funds would enable the Council to purchase two empty properties, refurbish them by introducing sustainable elements and measure the impacts, which were noted in paragraph 1.3 of the report. This would then set a blueprint for standards.

·       If the pilot delivered the desired outcomes outside of the scope of the project, the next phase would be to identify additional low quality, poorly converted properties, move those tenants to healthy empty homes within the Council’s control while improvement renovations took place within their original properties. This would need to be subject to a separate business case. In line with the business case, the project objectives were then to utilise the next revenue from the first properties to be ring-fenced and recycled towards financing capital borrowing costs for the next property acquisition(s). Improving the environmental performance of the properties would create sustainable accommodation for residents and improve their own disposable income.

·       The level of deprivation was significant and accepted by Devon County Council and MHCLG colleagues. To date, funding requests/business cases had not been successful and therefore the Council had been unable to pursue opportunities to intervene in the private rented sector, which this funding would enable us to do; bringing empty and poor quality homes back into use.

·       Project 2: To replace the Council’s committed funds to complete the build of 27 units of Community Land Trust (CLT) low carbon affordable housing for social rent in Woolacombe and Parracombe.

·       This would enable the Council to recirculate those funds originally allocated to these schemes and reallocate them more flexibly to support the build out of another 19 Passivhaus CLT affordable homes in Georgeham and support a further 28 homes through the planning systems at Lynton, West Down and Braunton to take them to delivery stage.

·       In total this would progress 84 low carbon CLT affordable homes for social rent in isolated areas.

·       The BID had gone through the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority to attract this government funding.

Councillor Crabb thanked the Chief Executive and the team involved in the bidding process for their hard work in securing the funding to deliver better homes for two local communities.

Councillor Wilkinson reiterated the comments made by Councillor Crabb and welcomed the development of the 21 dwellings in Woolacombe.

It was moved by Councillor Crabb and seconded by Councillor Wilikinson that the recommendations within 2.1 and 2.2 of the report be agreed.

RESOLVED:

a)    That Members the use of the allocated Government Fund for the 2 projects set out in Section 4 of the report be approved; and

b)    That, Council vary the Capital programme by £2,790,000 and that funds be released, subject to the signing of the Final Grant Funding Agreement, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive and the Senior Solicitor and Monitoring Officer.