To consider the above report

Members considered three Council owned assets which were or would become vacant shortly and were potentially available for redevelopment.

Councillor Rankin reminded Council that at the last meeting Members had unanimously supported the addition of £8.43m of capital to build seven social rented homes and 13 shared ownership. He had spoken about the council’s strategy of utilising its redundant property assets for social good as affordable housing, creating revenue streams to support vulnerable adults and children, whilst maintaining the council’s asset base. This was good for the community and sensible for the council finances.  The report was consistent with the strategy and in line with the RBWM Property Company business plan.

The first site for approval was Mokattam, which was currently used as a care home but would be vacant by December as the care home was coming to the end of its useful life. All existing residents were being transferred to more appropriate accommodation. On the site it was proposed to develop two social rented homes and four shared ownership properties.

The second site was the old caretaker’s home at Riverside Primary school. The plan was for two socially rented homes and two shared ownership properties. The third site was involved reinvesting part of the capital receipt from Ray Mill Road East where the council would be receiving 20 homes already. The proposal was for a further 17. As a result 47% of homes on the site would be affordable.

Councillor Rankin stressed that the Part II investment reports had been through the independent and high-calibre board of directors. He thanked officers for their work on these proposals, in particular the Executive Director - Place and the RBWM Property Company Managing Director.

Councillor Carroll explained that Mokattam currently provided 24 hour care to six adults with severe learning difficulties. The CQC had rated the home as ‘good’ but it was not a building designed for adult social care therefore it was a good opportunity to relocate the six individuals. All six had tenancy with Housing Solutions, and care provided by Optalis. They would be transferred to ground floor flats with a communal space. The council had worked with the families to plan the move and ensure a smooth transition.

Councillor M. Airey commented that the Property Company mechanism was an innovative way to use the council’s assets to develop affordable housing. He thanked the officers involved.

Councillor Hilton commented that the council had been talking about utilising its assets ten years ago. The establishment of the Property Company was crystallizing these thoughts into a revenue stream and the availability of affordable housing. He thanked the Managing Director of the Property Company and the Lead Member.

Councillor Stretton thanked Councillor Carroll for his reassurances regarding Mokattam. The proposals were very interesting but she noted that no pre-application planning advice had been taken to identify any issues, therefore she believed it was premature to ad money to the budget.

Councillor Beer commented that when he had been on the Local Plan Working Group the meeting had received a presentation from a headteacher who had interviewed 22 candidates for two teaching posts. The majority of the candidates had ben suitable but none had accepted because they could not afford to live locally. He was also aware that Manor Lodge in Old Windsor had a desperate need for staff for 18 months but could not fill vacancies for the same reason. The BLP set out that 434 affordable houses were needed per annum, which was 61% of the actual housing need. The majority of this affordable housing needed to be social rented properties. The proposals in the report were valid but numbered only five units out of 27 and represented only 27% of the properties in the council’s control.  The council was not meeting the needs of the community. He was not in favour of the split and felt the council was missing an opportunity.

Councillor S Rayner commented that this was great news for residents especially those on low income.

Councillor Stretton left the meeting.

Councillor Saunders commented that there was a critical balance to strike. In each and every case the council needed to demonstrate it was pursuing residential development of a council asset and seeing to optimise the provision of affordable housing. There was a lower rate of return for affordable housing and the council had to be careful not to pour millions of pounds down a deep whole without any meaningful annuity return.

Councillor Da Costa welcomed the additional affordable housing and asked if there was a clear target for delivery over the next few years.

Councillor Werner commented that the Lead Member had done a very good job.

Councillor Dudley highlighted the additional 27 affordable homes being proposed in the report, along with future provision in the four joint venture sites and the golf course. The council had guaranteed 30% affordable housing on council–owned sites. Councillor Rankin highlighted the mix of tenures in the pipeline. He explained that pre-application advice would be a small capital commitment so the budget needed to be approved before it could be spent. He assured Members that no significant element of the budget would be spent before the pre-application advice was obtained.

It was proposed by Councillor Rankin, seconded by Councillor Dudley, and:

RESOLVED: That Council notes the report and:

i)     Approves the capital budget spend of £7,059,088 for the three redevelopment projects.

(48 Councillors voted for the motion Councillor M. Airey, N. Airey, Bateson, Bhatti, Bicknell, Bowden, Brimacombe, Bullock, Carroll, Clark, Coppinger, Cox, Da Costa, Diment, Dudley, D. Evans, L. Evans, Gilmore,  Grey, Hill, Hilton, Hollingsworth, Hunt, Ilyas, Kellaway, Lenton, Lion, Love, Luxton, McWilliams, Mills, Muir, Quick, Rankin, C. Rayner, S. Rayner, Richards, Saunders, Sharpe, Shelim, Story, Stretton, Targowska, Walters, Werner, D. Wilson, E Wilson and Yong.  1 Councillor abstained: Councillor Beer)

Councillor Jones joined the meeting.